Imagine
by Ashlyn-i
Summary: Terabithia: the land Leslie and Jesse created to escape reality. But when Leslie died, so did Jesse's inspiration for thier fantasy. Now Jesse is returning to combat the growing darkness and his own secret fears he has harboured for too long. To do so, he must return to the land he once cherished, to save it and Leslie; and reawaken his sleeping imagination... Please R&R
1. Prologue

Hi, I suppose this is the real start to my story now. I'm going to try and do an adventure story where Jesse ventures into Terabithia and the lands beyond in order to save Leslie from the Dark One.  
>But there will be a twist, as you shall see.<p>

Disclaimer: I don't own Bridge to Terabithia or any of its characters. I do own anyone I make up, or any lands I create.

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><p>Leslie stood at the entrance to Jesse's house, wondering whether she should venture down the well worn drive to the little house at the end and find out if Jesse was in.<p>

Probably not, she thought to herself. She glanced up at the windows of the little house, trying to glimpse Jesse behind one of the upper glass. No-one moved.

Maybe he's already there, she thought, he could be waiting for me.

So decided, Leslie started to run down the path that divided her house from Jesse's. It was a warm summer's day. It will be beautiful in Terabithia today.

Leslie reached the rope that marked the boundary between this world and her own world, the world of Terabithia. There had been a large storm that night and the water in the creek was higher than usual, faster too. Leslie watched the way it tumbled over rocks, knocking away the smaller pebbles unable to cling to the muddy bed of the creek.

It's because their fingers are too small, Leslie thought, their grip is weaker than the bigger rocks that can cling to the riverbed with such ease. Rocky fingers spread deep into the mud like rooky roots. She paused as she took hold of the rope to add, there are rocks like that on the cliffs of Terabithia. They aimless try and climb up the cliffs to the safety of land. Only the biggest, strongest rocks can make it, keep a hold as the rough waves batter them and seagulls dive bomb them. The smaller rocks have to wait until they've grown, but they can't wait too long or the sea will have drained them of their strength.

Planning to note that down when she reached the tree house, Leslie tugged on the rope to check it, stood in the usual position and leapt.

Holding on tightly to the rope, she swung. She could feel the breeze washing over her, cool and refreshing in the hot sun. The sky far above her was clearest blue. She could hear the gurgling of the brook beneath her. She could hear the birds whistling in the distance.

Then she felt something give in the rope.

Something snapped.

'No,' she said, aloud in fear, 'no! Help!' the last word was a scream as the rope broke.

Leslie tumbled down into the waiting waves of the river.

Something caught her on the side of the head.

If only Jesse were here, Leslie's diminishing thoughts were, if only...

Someone caught hold of an arm. Leslie's eyes opened. Water churned around her, frothing and bubbling. Someone had hold of her arm. A pale, slender hand, stronger than its delicate state looked like it should have.

Leslie felt the water pull her body downwards, deeper into the river. But she was soaring upwards, out of the dark depths, out into the sunlight again. She broke the surface and continued to climb, up towards the light in the sky. Looking down, she could make out her body beneath the ripples, pale and lifeless.

So this was it, she thought sadly, I'm going. She closed her eyes and prayed a silent prayer. Jesse, she thought, never stop believing. Terabithia will always be there, even if I'm not.

Something latched onto her foot. Leslie cried out as something dragged her back down. It was a second hand, but it wasn't like the first. It was withered and scorched and Leslie could see that its bones had been broken many, many times. Sharp talon like fingernails clung to her trouser leg. She couldn't see anybody connected to the hand, but could see where it was dragging her.

It was pulling her towards the shore where she believed Terabithia lay.

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><p>Please review!<p> 


	2. Leslie's Terabithia

I just watched the movie and just had to write this. Maybe I will continue it, maybe not but for now I'm just happy that I wrote it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Terabithia, but I own the lands around it because I made them up.

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><p>Jess was going through Leslie's things. Her parents had asked him to come round and help them with it, because one look at her notebooks, the doodles and passages from dozens of different scenarios, was enough to make her mum start crying again. It was there, in the cluttered mess that was inevitably Leslie's room, that Jess first found it, properly: Leslie's Terabithia.<p>

He was helping clear out Leslie's notebooks, but had ended up reading them instead. He had known that Leslie had an incredible imagination but seeing on paper...

There was stuff about Terabithia, describing the mountains, laden with woodland. _The dense forests with low hanging branches and creepers, filled with monsters of the Dark One, but also the warriors of Terabithia, tiny in size, but make up for that with courage (and there are a lot of them). There are Giant Trolls, who look like trees if they stand still. Birds that sing more beautifully that any other on Earth, sweeter that a nightingale with the soft note of a harp. There are women in Terabithia who have birdcages for chests and who train these birds and, when they place the sweet singing birds in their birdcages, they can sing a chorus so beautiful that angels would come down from Heaven to hear them._

_The delicate silver leaves that could grow on special trees in the deepest parts of the woods. It is said that the Dark One searches for these trees, for whoever wears a crown made of these silver leaves is said to rule forever. But he will never find it, as foretold by the Prophetic Brook, only a true King or Queen of Terabithia will find the enchanted grove where the tree leaves are silver and the bark is gold, where it rains sapphires when the great gem dragon passes overhead and emerald grass grows because of the special insects that farm the ground, so if you ever go walking in the enchanted grove, be careful where you tread._

_Deep in the Oceans lies the merman palace and the green skinned people play in the sea all day with their dolphin companions. They are the navy of the Rulers of Terabithia. They would lay down their lives for their King, or Queen, for they bring peace to Terabithia._

_Far to the North are the colder mountains that are peaked with snow that glistens in the dim sunlight that filters through thick clouds. The air is much colder here. Giant polar dragons and sabre toothed mammoths live here. It is a frosty desert land where only the strong can survive. However, if you survive far enough, you can reach a point where the aurora will shine for you and if you reach the point where the snow and aurora meet, you will receive one wish. Most people forget about the wish, or waste it accidentally, because they are so overwhelmed by the beauty of the aurora spot – where light interacts with reflection._

_However, witches have said to have overrun this once beautiful place. They warp wishes and challenge adventurers to a battle of wits. They feast on the fear of the adventurers and steal their imaginations for their own usage. Who knows what lies at the bottom of a witch's caldron after they have tipped the fine pearly either of imagination in and who knows what comes out when the witch calls._

_To the west are the Golden Lands. This mountainous range is so named after the colour they turn when sunlight hits them as it sets. Many a fool has been led to believe that everything is made of gold. Gold can be mined but at great risk. For the Golden Lands are the lands of dragons. There is the great Gem Dragon who guards the enchanted grove and flies to and fro from that place and Golden Lands, scattering blessings upon those who walk beneath it and harm it not. There are twin dragons of white and black who are the Judgement Dragons of the land, keeping the peace in that area. There are many, many lesser dragons that can be tamed, but only by the bravest and strongest of Terabithians. And, of course, there is the Golden Dragon, said to be the wisest creature in all of Terabithia and the father to all reptiles. There is a famous story about the Golden Dragon meeting his mate, the Gem Dragon. Though she was plain at the time, he saw something beautiful in her and changed her so that all could see it. She was the mother of the White and Black dragons who promised to keep the peace and then their father disappeared. No-one knows where he is but everyone knows where he is. He sits at the heart of the Golden Lands. But no-one knows where that can be found, so no-one has found him._

_To the East are the waters of the Ocean where the mermen ride the waves and, beyond that, the Rainbow Valley. It is said that lands are always plentiful there, the flowers are always in bloom, and the hearts of the people are always at peace. There are no troubles in the Rainbow Valley. The Rainbow that is always in the sky never fades, for if it did, the land would slowly die. No-one knows the exact purpose of the Rainbow Valley other that it keeps a balance in the world. Maybe one day, someone will find out. It is said that there is a twin to the enchanted grove of Terabithia here that anyone can enter. It is said that the Rainbow Valley is the most enchanted place in the whole land. Who knows, because everyone who has set out across the vast Ocean has never returned._

_To the South are the planes. Vast expanses of green grass and flowering shrubs as far as the eye can see, except in the south west where the Golden Lands slip into darker areas. This was where the Dark One came from. His rein stems from the volcanic growth that has sprung up at the border of the Golden Lands before becoming the planes. Here, the Dark One gathers his followers, in the caverns of the Darker Realm, waiting for his time to strike. He rarely ventures out and never in physical form. He is the Shadow Master, the Lord of Darkness and it is this form that he takes when he ventures into the woods of Terabithia._

Jess turned the page. It was blank. He flicked over the next. That was blank too.

Leslie really went into detail about this land of Terabithia, Jess thought sadly.

Footsteps in the hall outside and then the door opened. 'Everything alright in here?' Leslie's dad asked, poking his head around the door.

Jess looked up in surprise. 'Yeah,' he said distractedly, 'yeah, I was just... reading...'

Leslie's dad smiled a sad smile. 'Yeah, Leslie's writing has that affect on people. Once you start you just can't stop. Well, your parents will be looking for you soon so you better pack up. Thanks for helping.'

'Anytime.'

Leslie's dad gave another wan smile and shut the door. Jess scrambled up from his position on the floor at the foot of Leslie's bed when the notebook dropped from his lap. Frowning, Jess bent down to pick it up and read the last words ever written in this notebook. It was scrawled at a random point near the back of the book, and was upside-down, as if Leslie had written it in a hurry, not caring that she got the wrong page and even had the book the wrong way up.

_Look for the girl in the white dress. Look for the innocence shrouded in guilt. Look for the light that can shine away the darkness and bring hope back to Terabithia. Look and you shall see. Seek and you will find. Knock and the way will be opened to you._

_I will go ahead and find it. You must follow if we are to succeed._

Maybe she knew, Jess thought, maybe she knew that if she left, I'd struggle to see Terabithia anymore. She had clearly got the "look, seek, knock" bit from the Bible when she came to church with us. But who's the girl in the white dress? What's the rest about?

Jess straightened up and as he did, something outside the window caught his eye. Glancing out, he looked down into the garden and there, gazing back up at him, was a girl with dark hair wearing a white dress.

Jess pulled his gaze away. That was not possible. He was imagining it. When he looked back, she was gone.

_Look and you shall see. Seek and you will find. Knock and the way will be opened onto you._

Jess tossed the notebook back into one of the packing up boxes and scurried out of the room. Don't think about it, he told himself, don't think about it.

From the safety of the shadows of the trees, the girl in the white dress watched out for him.

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><p>Do you like it? Because if you do, my imagination is swimming with ideas for this story so you might be in for a bumpy ride if I continue with this.<p>

Please review so I know to carry on or not.


	3. A Child's Thought

This may be slow progress as I'm still plotting things out. I'm glad that some people have expressed a desire for more. I'll try not to disappoint you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bridge to Terabithia, nor do I own the poem. That is the first verse of A Child's Thought by Robert Louis Stevenson.

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><p>Jesse sat on the school bus, staring out of the window. He was sitting alone again. The scenery flicked by, but was passed over by his glazed eyes. Trees, fields, houses, roads, posts, pylons... Jesse felt his eyelids dropping.<p>

People: male, female; young, old; dressed in bright colours or dark suits. People going places, busy, wrapped up in their own little worlds. Jesse watched them all pass before his eyes, not taking any of it in but staring out at life.

How many of them knew about Leslie? How many of them missed her now she was gone?

Leslie had made her own world: Terabithia. She had died trying to get there.

Now Jesse was unwilling to return. He had heard that the Burkes were going to move away because their home reminded them too much of Leslie. He hated the idea of them leaving, but he also felt a stab of guilt every time he saw them. It was his fault that Leslie was dead. She had gone to Terabithia in search of him. He had left her behind.

And now, she had gone somewhere far beyond his reach.

Jesse pulled himself out of his stupor in order to clamber off the bus with May Bell. He began to trudge wearily towards his home when he heard his name being called.

It was Mr Burke. He had a small box in his hands and seemed to be waiting for Jesse. Jesse ambled over. He wasn't exactly sure what he was wanted for.

'Do you need some help clearing out more of Leslie's stuff?' he mumbled.

Mr Burke's eyes creased at the edged, and he shook his head. 'No thank you,' he said, 'we've got most of it boxed up.' He shook his head again and pressed the box into Jesse's chest, 'no, but we'd like you to have these.' Jesse fumbled around in the top of the box and pulled out the first thing that came to hand: one of Leslie's old notebooks.

'We know how much you kids loved to play imaginary games,' Mr Burke continued, 'please,' he added when Jesse looked up in surprise and indignation, 'Leslie was always playing with imaginary friends when she was little. I wouldn't be surprised if you were playing in her world whilst you were together...'

Jesse felt his face slowly going red. He dropped the book back into the box, stammered thanks and turned to go. On a second note, he turned back and asked, 'did she ever talk to you about her... um... imaginary world?'

Mr Burke smiled. 'No,' he said in a distant voice, 'she was happy in it by herself. I think that was because her parents spent so long in the world of their own creations too.'

Jesse nodded. Slowly, he began to move away. 'Well, thank you,' he mumbled. Mr Burke watched him go. He hoped that his gift would help move the boy on from the obviously painful memories he had about his daughter. He didn't want to pry into what Jesse must be feeling, but...

Mr Burke sighed and walked back towards his house. He could only do so much. Now only time could heal him... heal them all.

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><p>Jesse slowly trudged up the pathway towards his house, thumbing through one of Leslie's old notebooks as he walked. He nudged open the front door with his foot and meandered into the house.<p>

His mother looked up as he walked past her, head bent low over the pages. 'What's that, Jesse?'

'Some of Leslie's things. Her father gave them to me?'

'Oh...' Jesse's mother watched as he slowly walked by and began to climb the stairs. She bit her lip and tried to return to what she had been doing before, but her mind was distracted by Jesse. Something was eating at that boy and he wasn't sharing it with her.

Jesse pushed open the door to his room, moved across to his bed and sat down. His eyes were still glued to the same page. Leslie's prose about Terabithia flowed over him, descriptions of the high mountains and deep valleys and green trees decorated by the multitude of blossoms and the blue seas and...

Jesse shut the book with a snap and threw it back in the box. How was this helping? He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to go back there. Not to the place he and Leslie had spent so long creating. It would just make him remember. It would just hurt...

Jesse moved off the bed and shoved the box underneath it. No, he shook his head, he wasn't going to remember. It hurt too much.

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><p><em>At seven, when I go to bed,<br>I find such pictures in my head;  
>castles with dragons prowling round,<br>gardens where magic fruits are found;  
>fair ladies prisoned in a tower,<br>or lost in an enchanted bower;  
>while gallant horsemen ride by streams<br>that border all this land of dreams  
>I find, so clearly in my head<br>at seven, when I go to bed._

_No matter where you go. No matter where you hide. The dreams you helped to fill follow you, and find you when you're still._

Jesse opened his eyes. He had just dreamt of Terabithia. He had dreamt about the tree house where he and Leslie played. He had dreamt about fighting in the forest and of the strange creatures they had created together.

Then the dream had changed and it was just him playing.

Then there she was, the girl in the white dress he had spotted from Leslie's window. She looked just as distant now as she had then, but he had chased her until he could grip her arm. But when she turned it was just Leslie in a wig, laughing at him.

Then the chant had begun.

_No matter where you hide you can't leave it all behind. The dreams you helped to fill find you when you're still._

Jesse closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. That had been Leslie talking. He was certain of it. And she was talking of Terabithia; that was obvious.

His eyes snapped open. He needed to go back there. He needed to see it all once more.

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><p>Jesse jumped off the bus and ran down to the woods. He ran the familiar to the brook where Leslie had drowned. He pushed that thought from his mind as he run, light-footed across the fallen tree. If only it had fallen a few days earlier. Then Leslie wouldn't have needed to use the rope, she could still be here.<p>

He walked the familiar path to the tree house. He closed his eyes and he could see the view from the top. He tried to remember what Leslie had written in her book. He listened out for the soft tweeting of the nightingales. He breathed in the soil-smell of the trolls. He opened his eyes and stared at the leaves that were beginning rustle as a sea breeze blew through them. Somewhere round here as a magical garden that Leslie had described. Could he find it?

Jesse stretched out his arms as if trying to sense which direction to set off in. A cry broke his concentration. A girl. Leslie? He turned and sprinted back to the brook.

It was May Bell, lying on the tree.

She had followed him!

Anger rose in Jesse, clouding his thoughts. How dare May Bell try and intrude on his private game. Even if Leslie was no longer here, it was not for her to intrude. It was his game with Leslie, and his alone. But then a thought, like a candle in the darkness, broke through.

She's still here, Jesse realised as he stared into the dark eyes of his sister. She will always be here, if I remember Terabithia.

A figure watched the brother and sister as they set off away from the fantasy side of the brook. The girl smiled.

The prospect of a new queen hung in the air.

She turned and stared down the brook. From where she stood, she could just make out the silver leaves of the Enchanted Grove, curling into a thick bushy wall before fading into green again.

Maybe, there was still hope for Terabithia.

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><p>Please review. I still need opinions on this.<p> 


	4. Royalty Argue

Sorry I've not updated it a while. Hopefully this extra long chapter should make up for it. I now know where I'm going with this story, the plot's plotted, the characters roughtly designed. All I have to do is write it now. :S

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Bridge to Terabithia characters or creatures. There are a couple, like the Tinkle Fairies and Princess Pari who I do own though, but I don't really care about them.

P.S. I'm sorry if it was a little unclear about whether Terabithia is a real place or not; I was still deciding at the time. Now I know what I'm doing, it should become clearer later. :)

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><p>'You see it?'<p>

'Yes! Yes! I see it!'

Two young children crouched in ferns, watching the giant troll pass by. They watched the fronds in its hair swish back and forth as it moved forwards. Both children eyed it warily when one said, 'I'm going to tickle its feet!'

'Be careful! It's huge! It might not see you until it's too late.'

The younger child stuck her tongue out. 'I'm not scared of it. It's only Jan-nice.' She leapt up to charge the troll, before glancing back, unsurely, at her older brother. 'They always have ticklish feet, don't they?'

'Of course.'

'Right.' With that, the young girl charged forwards, squealing at the top of her lungs. The giant troll stopped and looked down in surprise as the brunette leapt at its legs and poked it with a stick.

'Ouch...' the troll said in a low female voice. She raised her foot up so her ankle was out of reach of the little girl, who ducked underneath the giant's foot and began tickling. The giant troll's shoulders shook as she began to laugh. Without thinking, she began to lower her foot.

'May Bell!' the boy in the ferns yelled. The little girl squealed and curled into a ball as the foot descended. Another figure leapt out of the bushes, scooped her up and carried her over to her brother. Her brother sighed in relief.

'Thanks Sir Galihud,' he said to the tall thin figure dressed in silvery armour. The figure saluted. As usual, his armour squeaked at the elbows. Jesse managed a smile before turning on his sister. 'May Bell, I warned you!'

The young girl, May Bell, uncurled and slowly got to her feet. She gave the knight a big smile before sulking at her bigger brother. 'I'm sorry, Jesse,' she said quietly, 'but I didn't mean to...'

'It's my fault, your highness,' Jesse looked up at the anxious face of Jan-nice the tree giant, 'I should have realised the young mistress would try an attack like that. It is tag after all.'

Jesse sighed. 'I don't think you are at fault,' he told the giant, 'you were having your feet tickled.'

May Bell had wandered over to a log and sat down, sulkily. Her silvery crown glittered in the dappled sunlight. 'I'm bored of tag,' she said aloud.

Jesse turned to her. 'What do you want to play then?' he asked her. 'Or we could go Squogre hunting. There are still many down by South River that need to be got rid of, and Cook does a nice stew with their meat. Or we could try heading East to the ocean and seeing the Water Warriors training...'

'I want to go Unicorn riding,' May Bell said.

Jesse frowned. 'There are no unicorns in Terabithia. There are Nar-nir, which are sort of like unicorns. Do you want to have a go at riding one of them?'

'What do they look like?'

Jesse closed his eyes. 'They're six-legged horse shaped beasts, with longer manes that run down the sides of both front legs. Their eyes are wide and completely black apart from a ring of forest green. They have two horns upon their heads which are short in size and are often used to control them when riding them. They can be wild but when tamed, are incredibly loyal and can ride faster than most dragons can fly. They use their long tails which are mostly hair with one long strand of bone to flick flies away from their thick fur. They hate rain and can often be found in the southern plains of Terabithia. They can be called for like this,' Jesse put his hands together and hooted like a trumpet. He could hear hoof falls before he had lowered his hands and when he opened his eyes he could see two Nar-nirs standing before them. Both were brown in colour but the larger one was several shades darker than the second.

Jesse grinned and turned to his little sister, who did not look impressed. 'See?'

'No,' May Bell said flatly.

Jesse frowned. 'Why not?'

'I don't want a nar-nar,' May Bell said crossly, 'I want a unicorn. They're better.'

'There are no unicorns in Terabithia,' Jesse said stubbornly.

'There are unicorns everywhere,' May Bell said. She reached forwards and stroked the air as if there was something there. If Jesse squinted he could picture a glossy, dewy-eyed creature with a silvery pink mane and pure white fur.

He shook his head. 'Unicorns don't fit the landscape of Terabithia,' he said. And it was true; the brilliantly clean creature seemed out of place in the muddy, leaf-strewn forest.

May Bell's frown deepened. 'I want a unicorn,' she snapped.

'No,' Jesse said firmly.

May Bell's face contorted and then she strode away. 'Fine,' she said, 'I don't want to play.'

Jesse threw up his hands in frustration, turned and walked off in the opposite direction. As the two siblings parted company, the tree giant, the knight in squeaky clean armour and the two Nar-nirs disappeared in cloud of imagination.

Jesse's anger thickened the further he got from his sister. It had been several months since he first crowned May Bell the second queen of Terabithia. At first it had been fine. They had had fun playing similar games to those he had once played with Leslie. The Dark Master had been vanquished, so Jesse told May Bell, but his servants still plagued the forests.

Together, he and May Bell had driven the Squogres south and hunted the Hairy Vultures until they fled to the Golden Mountains. They had made citadels out of the nests for the Solider Fairies. They had freed half his captured birds into the care of the Bird Women who would use the birds' voices to sing with by placing the creatures in the cage where their necks should be. May Bell began experimenting by placing more than one bird in at once to create different harmonies, after Jesse had reassured her that the birds were not harmed in the process.

Then Jesse had begun inventing more people for May Bell to meet and even tried encouraging May Bell to imagine her own people. The Tinkle Fairy was one of her creations. The purpose of the Tinkle Fairy was entertainment. They lived in colonies near the Soldier Fairies, who visited them on their days off. Tinkle Fairies were jesters. They were designed after a mixture between a bumblebee and a grasshopper as both children agreed this was the weirdest combination. They had bells on the end of their arms and legs and antenna, which rang whenever they moved, giving them their name. Their favourite way of entertainment was sneaking up on people and shouting "Boo!" because everyone could hear them coming and it nearly always brought a smile to faces.

Jesse heard a "Boo!" near his ear, but brushed his hand at the area and carried on walking.

It had been after the holidays when they had had to return to school when the arguments started. This was probably the best example of something. May Bell recently had become enthralled by a series of books about fairies and unicorns and other "girly rubbish", as Jesse called it. The books were centred on a fairy princess, which was the first thing May Bell introduced to Terabithia.

Jesse allowed it by making his own adaptations to it. Her name Princess Pari, and she was based off a moth, not a butterfly like May Bell insisted. She was a warrior princess who led a tribe of fairies nearest to the Golden Mountains so had to be tough in order to defend her people from the smaller of the dragons who preyed on them.

She met with Jesse and May Bell to talk about a truce between them and the fairy royals, which the siblings had agreed upon. Their Solider Fairies went to the aid of Princess Pari when she called them on her grass whistle. One time Jesse had gone with them to see a dragon for himself. However, because, according to Princess Pari, the dragons are no bigger than Prince Terrien was, when they saw Jesse coming, they had fled back to the mountains where the greater dragons resided. Jesse had been pleased to help, but disappointed not to see a dragon. Later, he had mused that this must be because he was still uncertain what a dragon from Terabithia looks like.

After the success of the princess fairy, May Bell had attempted other creatures, most of which Jesse put his foot down on. Next came Mermaids, which Jesse had adapted into Merpeople, each of whom was a different fish and who lived under the sea, the navy of Terabithia. Their marine Captain was based off a shark, whilst Jesse's favourite solider Murphye, was based off a flying fish.

Jesse flatly refused three creatures: unicorns, Pegasus (which May Bell tried after unicorns were refused) and elves. The elves May Bell tried to introduce were the softly spoken, wise and beautiful types that fantasy children's books were full of. Jesse's idea of an elf was more like the Terabithians he already had. He didn't need more people who didn't do anything.

May Bell's head, Jesse decided, was being filled with useless garbage she could do nothing with. If only Leslie were here, Jesse thought, sitting down at the foot of a tree and burying his head in his hands. She would understand Jesse's need to be creative, not to give into the stereotypes. She would be laughing alongside him about the new trend for romances with supernatural beings as being totally ridiculous. Jesse had once tried imagining a supernatural romance between a human and a Terabithian. He had cracked up in the middle of the English lesson, earning him a lot of weird looks, but he had been amused.

Instead, he had had to discuss the idea with Janice on the bus home. Janice, the ex-school bully and Jesse's newly required friend, had totally agreed with him that the supernatural romance idea was absurd, and then admitted liking one of the latest novels about a girl and her boyfriend who comes back as ghost and they decide they could still continue their romance. Jesse had scowled and gotten into an argument about ghosts with her. They had sat in silence for the rest of the journey home.

Jesse pondered his new friendship with Janice. It had started shortly after Leslie's death and had been extremely awkward at first. Janice had just sat next to him on the bus after giving Gary Fulcher, another of Jesse's school tormenters, a bloody nose. After a while, they had gotten into conversation about Leslie. Then Jesse had asked whether Janice would like to go running with him as a way of combating her overweight problem, which she was teased about behind her back. To make it fun, they had turned it into a game of tag, something that Jesse then recreated with May Bell in Terabithia.

After a holiday spent running, Janice had lost weight and gained popularity again. Despite this, she still sat next to Jesse on the bus home and went running with him every Saturday. She still wasn't quicker than him thought, as Jesse was now the fastest in his year.

Jesse missed Leslie.

He had a new friend in Janice. He had a new Terabithian companion, May Bell. But neither compared to Leslie.

If only...

Jesse sniffed and raised his head slowly. He realised that the sun was going down. The trees had darkened and it was getting difficult to see. Remembering that his parents asked him to be home before dark, Jesse pushed himself up off the tree to head home.

Then he saw her. She stood in between two trees ahead of him. Her hair was blowing in a wind that didn't exist, which also toyed with the loose ribbons on her white dress. They shone in the darkening light. Jesse blinked. The girl didn't disappear.

Jesse frowned, wondering where he had seen her before. Then he remembered.

It had been a while since he had seen the girl in the white dress. In fact, since May Bell had come to Terabithia, she appeared to have disappeared altogether. But now she was standing, not five paces from him.

Despite this, Jesse couldn't make out her face.

'Hello?' he asked.

The girl turned and fled. Jesse was after her in shot.

Jesse may have been the fastest in his year. He may have been third fastest in the school. But this girl was much quicker than him. She disappeared from his sight after he'd been running five minutes. Jesse was amazed he'd been able to manage even that.

Jesse skidded to a halt and panted heavily, leaning against a tree for support. Who was she? Why was she here? Where did she come from?

Jesse recognized that it was too dark to continue after the girl now. Instead, he headed in the direction he thought home was in and trudged off.

He was unaware of the white figure flitting after him between the trunks.

* * *

><p>Jesse arrived home in a foul mood. It had begun to rain heavily after he reached his bridge and he was drenched by the time he got home. His mum sent him upstairs immediately with orders to get changed and "don't drip all over the carpet!"<p>

Possibly worse still, May Bell wasn't talking to him. A part of Jesse didn't care if his seven-year-old sister was still angry at him. She was the one trying to pollute Terabithia with her fairy tale nonsense. But a part of him understood and wanted May Bell to talk to him again, the part that kept reminding him of Leslie. It may have been her imaginary world, but now he had introduced May Bell to it, wasn't it hers too? Jesse told this part of him to shut up and slammed his bedroom door shut angrily in response.

At long last, Jesse had his own room. It had been his older sister Brenda's, but after a discussion between his parents about the fact that Jesse was now eleven and growing too big to share a room with his two younger sisters, they had moved Brenda out into Ellie's room and helped Jesse move his stuff in.

Speaking of which... where were they?

In a new pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt, Jesse searched for a box which was hidden under his bed. Pulling it out, he opened it up and flicked through the numerous notebooks inside. Most of them had been Leslie's. These were the books in which she had written about Terabithia. A couple belonged to Jesse and he had filled them with drawings of the Terabithians; the ones that Leslie described including the Solider Warriors (who were dragonfly based), Squogres (squirrel-ogres) and Hairy Vultures (fur covered vultures). She also talked about a couple of other creatures Jesse hadn't been introduced to in their short time together: Grublins, cave dwelling goblin like creatures with wrinkly skin that writhed like a grubs, Larymphs, who lived in rivers and looked like squid-cat hybrids, and the dragons of the Golden Mountains. These were the creatures that Jesse found hardest to draw. Were they like the dragons from medieval stories, strong scaly beasts with features slightly like a horse? Or were they more like Chinese legends, long and thin? Were they like real lizards or were they more monstrous?

Jesse found what he was looking for in some of Leslie's earlier books. He could tell it was from when Leslie was young because of her handwriting. It was something he hadn't read for a long time. He was surprised it was among Leslie's books about Terabithia Mr Burke had given him because the actual content was not really about Terabithia.

_She flits beneath the sunlit trees. Dappled sunlight glitters in her hair like stars in the night sky. They make her dark eyes shine. They make her white dress glow, whiter than snow. She walks barefoot to feel the earth beneath her toes._

_She is as fast as a doe. No mortal man can catch her._

_Her laugh is like the tinkling of a harmony of bells. No tune can match it._

_She has wit as quick as a snapping whip, the witch's daughter._

_But her heart is as free as the birds in the sky. She is as innocent as a young child._

_They call say she'll grow into the white woman's shoes. She is the new snowdrop, they say._

_I say: her name is Alva. She's the girl in the white dress that waits by my garden gate for me to play with her. No man can catch her, but I can because I'm a girl._

_She's my best friend._

Jesse pondered this. It was clear that Leslie had had a previous imaginary world before she and him had made Terabithia. Jesse frowned. Leslie had never mentioned anything like this. Presumably, this was something private that she'd never wanted to discus.

So why was he now seeing her, the girl in the white dress?

* * *

><p>Will try and update soon, but promises cannot be made due to something stupid called A-levels that the Government insist are important. :S<p>

So I'm doing this instead of revising. Yay!


	5. Broken Bridge

Thanks for all your lovely reviews. I hope this story keeps up with your expectations.

Don't worry if you don't fully understand at first. If you knew everything at the start, there wouldn't be any fun in reading the story, now would there? :D

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Bridge to Terabithia characters. I kinda own the Dark Master, as he is more OCC than in the movie. I also own the girl in the white dress.

* * *

><p>Leslie stood on the balcony of the stone castle. The wind whipped her short blonde hair back from her face and made her squint her eyes and scrunch up her nose. It was blowing from the direction of the volcanic plains, carrying with it traces of ash, the smell of smoke and rotten eggs. She gazed out over the mountains that surrounded the tall, black building. Lifeless, she thought, there was nothing there, no force creating life.<p>

She focused. In the distance, a bush blossomed. Encouraged, Leslie continued until a small section of the mountainside was abloom. Then she relaxed. Creating life was so much harder nowadays.

'Enjoying the scenery,' a cracked, coarse voice croaked from the shadows of the doorway behind her. Leslie didn't turn around to greet the figure. She never wanted to greet _him_. There was a chink of metal as the figure hobbled forwards. It stopped at the edge of the shadows and gathered its thick black cloak around it so that it was fully covered from the sunlight. Slowly a knurled hand reached forwards and beckoned to her. 'Come back in,' it murmured, 'come back into the shadows.'

'I prefer the sunlight,' Leslie said, keeping her back to it.

The figure hissed and scuffled its feet. 'Shall I go and get some persuasion?' it crooned.

Leslie whirled around. 'You leave them alone!' she screamed.

In the doorway, the figure chuckled. 'So loyal,' it gurgled, 'so devoted.' Then the laughter stopped and the voice became hard. 'And yet, they won't come for you.'

Leslie's knuckles whitened. 'There are still the royals,' she spat, 'that's what keeps you here. That's what will keep you forever here. Jesse will never give up on Terabithia.'

'Never is a long time,' the figure in the doorway muttered, 'and Terabithia had changed under that ruler. It has been distorted, without you to balance it. I have become distorted. No longer is Terabithia, or its enemies, the same ones you knew. Time has changed when you have not. Change, Leslie, change with Terabithia.' The finger beckoned again.

'I'd rather die,' Leslie shouted and, before the figure could move, she had leapt over the side of the balcony.

The figure did nothing as the young girl fell, but turned and shuffled back into the shadows of the castle. Its laughter echoed in all direction in the empty building beyond.

Leslie was falling. The ground was coming up quickly. Leslie closed her eyes, waiting for impact.

A hand, twisted like the figure from the balcony's, made from the same black stone of the castle battlements, shot out of the wall and grabbed hold of Leslie's arm as she fell past. Another gripped her other arm, three others groped her torso and legs. One wrapped around her neck and covered her mouth. Leslie gasped and squirmed, but the arms clung on. They began to tug her in, through the cold stone of the castle. She could hear the laughter echoing in her ears.

Tears ran down her checks as Leslie choked. Her eyes were fixed on the small patch of greenery she had formed, withering and dying in the hot sun. Then her body disappeared from view of the outside.

A bird watched this from the fading shrubbery. It flapped its wings, as if testing them out, and then flew up into the brilliantly blue sky, now tinting pink as the sun descended.

* * *

><p><em>At seven, when I wake again,<br>The magic land I seek in vain,  
>A chair stands where the castle frowned,<br>The carpet hides the garden ground,  
>No fairies trip across the floor,<br>Boots, and not horsemen, flank the door,  
>And where the blue streams rippling ran<br>Is now a bath and water-can;  
>I seek the magic land in vain<br>At seven, when I wake again._

* * *

><p>Jesse's alarm rang harshly in his ears. At first he tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but when it continued, and was then joined by the voices of his mother and four sisters, Jesse finally gave up on sleep and forced his body up out of bed. It was a pity, because he'd been having the best dream he'd had in ages.<p>

Jesse tried to recall it as he collected his clothes from various places around his bedroom. It had included the girl in the white dress flitting between the trees of the Terabithian forest and Leslie standing at the balcony of their castle. She had been crowned with silver leaves and been laughing and waving at him. Prince Terrien, the dog Jesse had bought for Leslie, had changed into a jester dressed in black and white fur and played the bagpipes as everyone had danced. May Bell had danced with a unicorn she called Lily. It had rained teardrops so they had put up a giant primrose to shelter under. The primrose had turned white and become a girl sitting in a tree, laughing. The laughter had sounded like a chorus of bells.

This was when Jesse's alarm had sounded. Jesse sighed. It wasn't often he had pleasant dreams with Leslie in. Most of them were nightmares about her final moments, or what Jesse imagined her final moments to be.

For a second, Jesse's eyes lingered on the artwork on his walls. Many of them were drawings of the creatures of Terabithia. There was a portrait of Janice, or a copy of it as he had given the original to her as a birthday present, and right next to it a drawing of the tree giant Jan-nice, who (if you removed the ivy and branches from her hair and dressed her in jeans and a t-shirt) looked practically identical. Which, considering, was how it was meant to be. Jesse's eyes rested on his recent artistic attempts, an attempt to paint the landscape of Terabithia. This he was finding harder.

Jesse frowned. Was that the castle from his dream? he wondered. Was that Leslie in the windows? He shook his head. It was just the reflection of the sunlight in his painting on the glass. Not what he needed to be thinking about currently.

Jesse groaned and stretched. School, he thought sourly, as he headed downstairs for breakfast. Was there really a point to it? Wasn't there that famous guy who said that school was stupid? Jesse tried very hard to recall as joined the rest of his family at the breakfast table. It had be someone famous...

Ellie and Brenda were arguing about some new teen idol on the TV that Ellie thought was good-looking. Brenda disagreed. They were letting the rest of the house know exactly what they thought of the situation and of each other. May Bell began complaining to their mother that the milk "tasted funny". Joyce Ann started squawking loudly.

And into the middle of this, Jesse asked, 'Mum, wants the name of that guy who said school is stupid?'

'What?' his mother asked, whipping breakfast of Joyce's face.

'What was the name of the guy who said school isn't important?'

'There isn't one.'

'Yes there is. He said that imagination was much more important.'

'You mean Albert Einstein?' Ellie asked, for once taking an interest in something her little brother was saying.

Jesse looked slightly more cheerful. 'Yeah, that was him,' he said happily.

'The quote is "Imagination is more important than knowledge",' Ellie said, 'it doesn't say that school isn't important, stupid!'

'It was something Leslie told me,' Jesse muttered.

There was an awkward pause as the whole table went silent. Out of the corner of his eye, Jesse could see his mum gesturing at Ellie to apologise and Ellie refusing. Jesse sighed and was relieved when he heard the familiar hoot of the school bus.

'Gotta go,' he said hurriedly, leaping off his chair, grabbing his bag and shoes and running out of the door before any of the rest of his family could say anything else.

May Bell caught up with him as he got on the bus. 'Mum was very cross at Ellie,' she told him as she sat beside him in the first empty seats they could find.

'Whatever,' Jesse murmured, staring out of the window.

May Bell waited a couple of minutes before asking, 'are we going back to Terabithia again today?'

'Maybe,' was the only response her brother would give her.

* * *

><p>School past in a blur of colours, sights and sounds. Everything that Jesse was taught went in one ear and out the other. Something was making him distracted. Something was wrong with that week. Jesse had put his finger on it that morning at breakfast and it wasn't making him feel any better.<p>

At the end of that week, it would have been exactly a year since Leslie's death. He was reminded about it in the dream that morning. It was slightly worse when Mrs Myers pulled him to one side during registration and reminded him outright. Apparently they were going to have a ceremony to remember her by. She asked Jesse if he wanted to attend. Jesse had shaken his head. He didn't want to be stared at any more than he already was.

Particularly not if it concerned Leslie.

It was true that the bullies had left him alone more this week. Probably the teachers had told them to keep away from him until the anniversary of Leslie's death had past.

Jesse suddenly became aware that he was sitting on the bus and Janice was talking to him. 'Hey.'

Jesse looked around, slightly surprised. Janice, slimmed down hugely from the bulky bully Leslie had known last year, gave a wan smile. 'Hear you've been getting a lot of teachers talking to you about the end of this week.'

Jesse sighed heavily. 'Yeah.'

'Are you going?'

'No. It was hard enough attending the funeral. I don't really want any more reminders. I'll remember her in my way.'

'Ah!' Janice didn't know about Terabithia, but she was smart enough to know that Leslie and Jesse had shared something special during their time together. She smiled at him again, properly this time. 'Tell me if anyone gives you crap and I'll deal with them for you.'

Jesse let out a short laugh. 'Yeah, I know,' he said with a sigh.

As they got off the bus, Jesse gave a small wave to Janice, who returned it warmly before moving to sit with the rest of her friends at the back of the bus. Jesse didn't blame her for wanting to be with the in crowd. It stopped the teasing at least.

Jesse realised that May Bell was tugging on his arm. 'Are we going to Terabithia?' she asked eagerly.

It was almost like she had forgotten about their argument the other day. This one had been about May Bell wanting to change their appearance to be more elfin. Jesse had argued that you couldn't change what you looked like without serious surgery. May Bell had argued that Terabithia was an imaginary place so they could look like anything they wanted and she wanted to be a fairy elf. Jesse had snapped at her to go and find her own imaginary world if she wanted that. It wasn't happening here. Terabithia wasn't just in their imaginations; it was as real as they wanted it to be and if they started believing they were something they weren't they could do something serious.

Once again, it had been May Bell who had crossed the bridge out of Terabithia first, back to their house. Jesse had followed her only when it began to rain heavily. The thunder had chased him all the way to his front door. He had stayed up late that night, watching the thunderstorm. It had been like the weather was reminiscing about what had happened almost a year ago.

'Maybe we should check the bridge,' Jesse thought aloud. May Bell took this as an invitation back and hurried down the path between their house and the Burkes, towards the forest, Jesse running after her shouting, 'that doesn't mean cross it, May Bell!'

'Don't worry,' his sister sang, managing to keep just ahead of him, 'don't worry. Nothing will have happened. Nothing will have... oh...'

May Bell stopped so suddenly that Jesse almost ran into her. They stopped and stared at the bridge.

The archway at the end closest to Terabithia had collapsed. Branches crisscrossed that end of the bridge, covering the farthest end. The side nearest them however appeared to have weathered the worst of the storm.

Jesse told May Bell to keep back and slowly advanced across the bridge. When he was certain that it was still sturdy did he allow May Bell to follow him.

'Is it okay?' May Bell asked nervously as Jesse tugged as some of the thicker branches.

Jesse surveyed the damage. Upon closer inspection, he could see the roots of the plant that had clearly been uprooted in the storm that night and thrown into the bridge. It had entangled itself with the barrier of woven branches Jesse had made for May Bell to hold onto whilst crossing to stop her falling in. That wasn't the worst of it though. A thicker branch had been snapped off a tree last night and gotten wedged into the mess too. That would be harder to get rid of. 'Should be,' he reassured her, 'could you run back to the house and ask Dad to come and help? We're going to need some branch cutting things.'

For once, May Bell obliged without complaint.

Jesse tugged on the branch without end. So instead, he began working some of the small branches out of the mess and tossing them into the brook beneath him. The thick rushing water swept them away and out of Jesse's sight before he had finished the next one.

There was silence in the forest as if it was watching with bated breath. With this thought in mind, Jesse looked up to survey the forest. His gaze was met instantly by two dark brown eyes.

Jesse gaped. The girl in the white dress stood barely a yard away.

'Hey!' he said, reaching for her.

'Stop!' her voice surprised him.

Jesse's foot went through the tangled mess at edge of the bridge. Vibrations caused the branches to quiver. Something moved. His foot caught and, before Jesse had realised it, it had sent him tumbling over the edge of the bridge and into the dark water below.

* * *

><p>:) Hang on to your hats. It picks up from here.<p> 


	6. The King Returns

Disclaimer: I don't own Bridge to Terabithia, or the poem. The poem is the first verse of Gerald Gould's _Child Song_

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><p><em>I know the sky will fall one day,<br>The great green trees will topple down,  
>The spires will wither far away<br>Upon the battlemented town;  
>When winds and waves forget to flow<br>And the wild song-birds cease from calling,  
>Then shall I take my shoes and go<br>To tell the King the sky is falling._

* * *

><p>Jesse opened bleary eyes and blinked slowly. He could see tree tops and, beyond that, blue sky. His vision blurred slightly and he rolled over, coughing up water. He was drenched from head to foot. He choked and vomited water again. His hand met someone else's. More delicate fingers curled underneath his.<p>

Jesse became aware that someone else was coughing.

'Stupid,' he heard someone mutter, 'stupid. _Cough_... I did warn you.'

Slowly Jesse raised his head.

The girl in the white dress managed to give him a weak smile before returning to her coughing fit. Jesse lifted a finger and prodded her arm. She seemed solid enough.

How was that possible?

The girl gave him another grin. 'So sorry that might not have been as well executed as you'd expect, your highness,' she said mockingly, 'but it's been a while since I've pulled somebody from a river.'

'You...' Jesse began. He stared and slowly blinked. The girl didn't disappear.

The girl raised an eye brow. 'Me.'

'You're real.'

The girl blinked in surprise and then laughed. 'Of course I'm real! And you should be glad I am; I've just saved your life!'

'Who are you?' Jesse whispered, staring at the girl.

The girl climbed to her feet and gave Jesse a low bow, letting her dark wet hair fall into her face. 'My name is Alva, your highness,' she said in a posh English accent, 'delighted to make your acquaintance.' She glanced up. Her dark brown eyes glittered with humour.

Jesse was still trying to place something. 'Your highness?' he said after awhile.

'That's right,' Alva agreed, flicking strands of hair out of her eyes.

'Why do you keep calling me that?'

Alva raised her eyes. 'Because you're the king,' she said, 'at least, that's what everyone else says, so I suppose it must be true. Not been around here for long.'

'I'm a king,' Jesse snorted, 'yeah, only in my imagination.'

'Yes,' Alva said definitely.

'Yes what? Yes I'm a king or yes in my imagination?'

'Yes.'

'That's not helpful.'

Alva just smiled. She offered Jesse a hand up, which he took begrudgingly. She looked him up and down and then said in a small voice, 'I did expect you to be a little older, braver and generally more kingly.'

'Oh, thanks,' Jesse muttered sarcastically, staring around him. There was something familiar about the trees about him, but something different too. Was it the way the light coloured the leaves slightly golden? Or was it the colour of the bark? Was it the high pitched wining in the background that normally seemed out of place? Or was it just a feeling in his stomach that made him ask, 'where am I?'

Alva's smile widened. 'The other side of the bridge,' she said teasingly.

Jesse glanced back over his shoulder. Sure enough, he could see his homemade bridge spanning the gap above the brook, but...

Jesse frowned. 'Why's it boarded up?' he asked.

'Because you can't cross it,' Alva told him.

Jesse glared at her. 'Why can't I?' he demanded. Alva didn't reply, but her smile had gone. Jesse's eyes narrowed. He stepped up to the bridge and tugged at the wooden planks. 'Help me move them,' he snapped at Alva. The dark haired girl didn't move.

Jesse pulled harder and, with a ripping noise, one of the boards came away. Jesse fell backwards, but leapt to his feet almost immediately. He stared through the gap in the boards, his breath getting steadily slower and slower until he eventually stopped. He carefully lifted up the removed board and placed back in the gap. Then he moved away from the boarded up entrance and stared across to the other side of the brook from the side. From where he stood, there seemed like there was nothing wrong with the crossing. But through the gap...

Jesse turned back to the girl in the white dress. Alva raised her eyebrows and waited for him to speak. Jesse cleared his throat several times before said in a choked up voice, 'I can see it when I stand here. But when I looked through the gap, there was nothing. The way back was cut off, just a gaping black hole... how is that possible?'

'The way back is not open to you yet,' Alva said seriously.

'Not open... way back... where am I?' Jesse demanded.

'Where you are king,' came the reply.

Jesse stared at her for a long time before he cast his gaze at the golden coloured woods about him. 'I'm in Terabithia?' he said questioningly. It sounded impossible, and yet, there was a part of him that felt like he had expected it.

Alva nodded slowly. 'I pulled you up this side of the bank. Thereby, you are here.'

Jesse turned to her, 'why? How? Why are you here?'

'You are the king, are you not?' Slowly, Jesse nodded. Alva smiled. 'I'm here to tell you the sky is falling.'

* * *

><p>'It's quiet,' Jesse commented as they walked through the trees in a direction Alva insisted they'd find people. The sun was low in the sky, to Jesse's amazement, but normally at this time there would be Duskbirds (tiny umber, midnight blue and deep orange birds with golden edged black eyes that feast on the tiny Startipped spiders that appear at twilight) would be singing their evening chorus and the sounds of daytime creatures heading to bed as the nocturnal animals awaken. But the treetops were silent. No wind rustled the tree leaves. All was still, unnaturally still.<p>

Quiet, that was, apart from Alva's humming. Jesse didn't recognise the tune, or the words she murmured under her breath. He'd gotten no more information out of her since she had told him the sky was going to fall, like a human Chicken Licken. He had dismissed the idea, but Alva had smiled her knowing smile at him and simply pointed him in the direction he should walk.

'It's because the sky is falling,' Alva said. Jesse turned back and glared at her. Alva grinned at him and quickened her pace.

Then they broke through the tree line and Jesse had to stop in shock.

They had been walking along a pathway he hadn't recognised. It now wove away to the right revealing a stunning scene before him. In the distance, mountains towered high, many topped with snow, their lower regions covered by dense forest. A winding river of clear blue water, almost the same colour as the sky, wove between hills towards them. It was the palace on top of the nearest hill that made Jesse stop.

Flags were at the top of every tall spire. The cream coloured stone walls were moulded into helix shaped towers. Arches curled and battlements rose and sank like waves on the sea. Jesse's breath caught in his throat. It was the palace he had designed the day he invited May Bell into Terabithia to become the new Princess.

Alva watched him take in the scenery with a wry smile. 'Your kingdom, your highness,' she said.

Slowly, Jesse started down the path towards the river. Alva followed him, keeping respectfully behind him.

Jesse now began to notice the people slowly gathering about the pathway. He recognised the bird-cage women. The birds within the cages were not singing however. There were the men with Mohican feathers atop their heads, and warrior attire. The further down the pathway Jesse walked the more characters he spotted that he had created for his little sister. When he reached the foot of the hill on top of which the majestic palace sat, he was met by the tree giant he and May Bell had named Jan-nice after Janice the ex-school bully. It was then he turned back to Alva.

'How is this possible?' he whispered. In the quiet, his voice travelled farther than he intended. There were mutters from the watching crowd, but none of the figures moved away.

Alva gave him a soft smile. 'Because you believe it can be,' she said gently.

Jesse turned back to the palace. He could see the knights he thought up lined up on the brink of the hilltop. Steadily, legs shaking, Jesse began to climb the pathway to the castle beyond.

They welcomed him in with a chorus of trumpets that, despite the joyousness of the tune, caused mournful echoes across the valley. They showed him into a wide courtyard and through many a twisting corridor to "his" private quarters. There Jesse bathed in a bath tub, circular as a full moon and so wide he could lie flat on the bubbly surface and not be able to touch both sides at the same time. It smelt of lavender and, to Jesse's surprise, was coloured to match.

Then clothes were brought for him: a pearly shirt, flared trousers of dark green, a paler green sleeveless jacket, a belt with a sword attached and fine leather boots, all embroidered with golden thread that glimmered in the candle light. Jesse really did feel like a king dressed in these fine clothes. He wasn't certain about the sword; the only times he had ever used one of those had been in his own head when playing with May Bell.

Alva was waiting for him in the wide circular hallway, to which Jesse was led when he was dressed. The only change that had happened to Alva and her attire was that she had put on a new white dress. But her feet were still bare, her dark hair hanging loose about her face.

She grinned and gave Jesse a mocking bow when he approached her. 'You look like a king at last,' she told him.

Jesse frowned. He very doubted it.

Alva observed him for a while before saying, 'I suppose you want to know why you're here.'

'Yeah,' Jesse muttered. Alva's smile didn't fade. She gestured to the huge golden doors embossed with deep swirling grooves and pale wooden touches to the arrows and flowering features. Jesse eyed them. He thought he knew what was beyond them. Hesitantly, he stepped up and pushed the doors open.

The room beyond was lit golden by the setting sun. It streamed in through arching windows that lined every wall, making the room appear to be made more of glass than of stone. The tops of the windows was decorated with coloured glass so that the middle of the elliptical room was dappled the colours of a rainbow.

Pillars lined the walls in between the mirrors. They were decorated to look like trees of gold, spreading out higher up like branches, winding around the curving window tops and with leafy sculpturing at their tips.

Pale yellow leaf shaped tiles decorating the domed ceiling rose high above their heads added to the appearance that they really were in a golden wood, with a roof of tightly knitted foliage sheltering them whatever the weather. The floor beneath their feet was patterned with different coloured wooden hexagons in ever tightening rings.

There was only one stretch of wall that was not covered by a window. The wall was decorated with two willow trees leaning to meet above a platform. And seated on this platform was a throne made from marble and mahogany. The dark and light contrast of the stone and wood was the first thing to strike Jesse. His eyes then came to rest on a similar throne, slightly smaller in height, to the left. There was another, shorter still, on the right.

Jesse stopped. 'Why are there three thrones?' he asked Alva, who had followed him in, and was followed by the courtiers and knights who had been waiting with her in the circular hall outside the throne room.

'They make the three rulers of Terabithia,' Alva replied smoothly.

Jesse now let his eyes move down, to rest of on the velvet seat of the thrones. On each one sat a crown. The crown on the right was tall and extravagant: wrought swirls with the appearance of clusters of grapes on the front that reminded Jesse of autumn for some reason. This, Jesse realised, was May Bell's princess crown.

The crown on the left Jesse didn't recognise. It was decorated with silver flowering buds and swirls that hid star shaped droplets at their centre, lower in height that the Princess crown. The floral based design made Jesse think of spring turning into summer. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he thought he knew who it was for.

His own crown sat in the central throne. Not as tall as either of the female crowns, it was decorated with more elaborate swirls, but less nature in the design. It reminded Jesse of the wrought iron gates of one of the manor houses he had passed on his way into town with his mother one day on one of their very rare shopping trips. Either way, Jesse was pleased with it. It was his crown, the crown of Terabithia.

Despite this, he felt very nervous about putting it on.

He felt a slight breeze as Alva hurried past him. She stopped by the throne, bent and lifted the crown delicately from the velvet seating. She stood straight and turned and waited for him. Gulping, Jesse approached her. Her stare back was blank. Taking a deep breath, Jesse climbed the last few steps of the platform and sat upon the throne. With great care, Alva raised and then lowered the crown upon his head.

Applause broke out among the watching courtiers and knights.

Jesse smiled. He had the greatest surge of elation run through him. As the applause died, he turned his head to look up at Alva.

'I'm back,' he whispered.

So was Alva's smile. 'You are, your highness.'

Jesse nodded and then asked, almost teasingly, 'so, what's this about the sky falling?'

* * *

><p>Which we'll get to next time. :)<p>

From here on out, this should be much more fun!


	7. The Piece of Sky

Sorry it's been such a long time. I would like to blame it on things like exams and serious life choices... if it weren't for the fact I've been avoiding those too, as much as I can. :P

Truth be told, I'm finding it very difficult to write. It's so much easier to read and distract yourself with fanfiction. But, thanks to several lovely reviews from lionDreamerAKAfan, I decided it was time to get off my lazy ass and get this completed. Sorry for the wait.

* * *

><p><em>There's lots of things I've never done,<br>__And lots of things I'll never see;  
><em>_The nearest rainbow ever spun  
><em>_Is much too far away from me;  
><em>_But when the dark air's lost in snow  
><em>_And the long quiet strikes appalling,  
><em>_I learn how it will feel to go  
><em>_To tell the king the sky is falling._

* * *

><p>Alva smiled and gestured towards the door. Unsure of where she was taking him, but intrigued by her talk of falling sky, Jesse followed her. Alva led him along golden brown corridors that spiralled and twisted like they were winding their way through the castle. His castle, he reminded himself, I am king.<p>

Finally, Alva arrived in a room near the top of one of the warped spires. She glanced back to double check that Jesse was still following her then opened the door and allowed Jesse to enter first.

To begin with, Jesse couldn't understand why Alva had brought him here. Then he spotted it. In the middle of the room, standing on a marble plinth, inside a glass box, with the prongs of a rounded gold fork sticking into its centre, was a cube of sky.

Jesse felt his jaw drop slightly. He moved around the plinth to stare at the sky from all angles. It seemed solid, but it was wispy at the edge and Jesse could see straight through it. It was transparent sky blue with slight touches of fluffy white.

Jesse looked up at Alva. 'This is...' he began, but couldn't find the words to finish.

'This is sky,' Alva said with a grin, 'you should see it at night time. It looks beautiful, full of stars.'

'It changes with the real sky?' Jesse queried, circling the plinth again.

'Yeah,' Alva said casually.

'Why does it stay that shape?' Jesse asked.

Alva shrugged. 'I don't know.'

Jesse shook his head and stopped beside her. 'Where did it come from?' he asked then judged that might be a stupid question to ask, as it was a piece of sky. So he added hurriedly, 'how did it get here?'

'It fell out of the sky,' Alva told him. 'The fairies under the leadership of Princess Pari found it by the edge of the Golden Mountains. According to scouting fairies, even dragons fled from it.'

Jesse stared at her. 'That is interesting,' he murmured, 'there's not much that a dragon would run from.' He bent his legs so that he was eyelevel with the sky. 'Why did it fall?'

Alva shook her head. 'I don't know,' she said softly, 'there are not many who do.'

'What happens if the sky keeps falling?' Jesse asked. They shared a worried exchange. Neither knew, but both were certain that it would not be good.

'There are not many who can answer your questions,' Alva said as they descended the stairs leading to the tower, leaving a guard outside the door. Jesse wasn't sure who was steal a chunk of sky, but he felt reassured about the guard, even if he was part human and part ant: a tall tan thin humanoid ant, complete with antennae, beetle black eyes and six stick thin arms/legs.

'So who can?'

Alva paused on the spiralling staircase that was wrapped around the outside of the tower. 'A dragon probably could,' she said, 'a very old dragon.'

'Then we know what we have to do,' Jesse said, 'we have to find a dragon and ask him.'

Alva blinked at him. 'That could be dangerous,' she said, 'too dangerous for you, your highness.'

'Who defeated the Dark One?' Jesse demanded, 'who fought his evil minions when you were still young? I did! Me and... I can handle this, alright?'

Alva gave no resistance as Jesse pushed past her and continued down the stairs. She watched him trudge out of sight and then turned her back to the wall and smiled. 'You were not alone, your highness. And you shall not be this time. Right, Leslie? We're coming!'

* * *

><p>Leslie was standing on the balcony again. By now, the whole of the mountainside was in bloom. There were fairy like creatures flitting between the branches and three eyes birds, whose feathers shone like scales in the sunlight, hovered by the multitude of flowers.<p>

'Very pretty,' a voice from behind her said, 'you always were the creative one, weren't you?'

'Jesse did some of the creating too,' Leslie remarked.

'But it was you who designed Terabithia,' the figure in the shadows murmured, 'you had been designing it long before you met Jesse. It was always there at the back of your mind; your imaginary haven from reality. But back then, before you met Jesse, you had Alva.'

Leslie spun around. 'How do you know about her?' she demanded.

The figure chuckled. 'She's here, in Terabithia. You brought her through. She's with him, jealous?'

'No,' Leslie said calmly, 'because she'll lead him here.'

The figure laughed. The sound sent shivers down Leslie's spine and reverberated around the hollow room behind him. 'He won't come,' the figure said, 'the fear of me will keep him away.'

'No,' Leslie contradicted again, 'the fear of you and me being together will bring him.'

The figure glared at her. 'You should come back in now,' he snapped. Leslie sighed but obeyed him this time. Behind her, the flowers withered, the creatures scattered and the patch faded. Drifting down from the bright blue sky, devoid of cloud, feel a single white snowflake.

* * *

><p>Jesse's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright in bed. He buried his face in his hands, calming himself with every breath he took.<p>

There was a knock at the door and, when he gave permission, Alva poked her head around it. 'Everything alright?' she asked.

'Just had a bad dream,' Jesse murmured. He peered at her over the tops of his fingers. Alva was dressed in her familiar white from head to foot, creating a perfect contrast with her coal black hair.

'Oh?' Alva crossed the room and sat on the end of Jesse's bed, 'what was it about?'

'I... I can't remember,' Jesse whispered, closing his eyes in concentration, 'there was a castle in it. It looked like this one, except less welcoming, dark and gloomy and kind of... warped.'

'Oh?' Alva remarked again.

'Then there was this drumming,' Jesse said, 'a constant rhythm, and every so often, a beep.'

'A beep?' Alva repeated.

'Yeah,' Jesse glared at her, 'you think I'm going mad, don't you?'

'I haven't ruled out the possibility,' Alva grinned. Then she stood, so suddenly Jesse jumped, 'come on. Breakfast is being served. You have a long day ahead of you.'

'Really?' Jesse asked wearily, flopping back onto his pillows.

'Yes,' Alva said, striding across towards the door, 'we have to figure out what to do about the sky. Another cube was discovered today.'

'Okay, okay, I'm getting up,' Jesse groaned, pulling back the red and gold covers of his king-sized bed and shivering in the morning chill, despite the nightshirt. A thought struck him. 'What you doing here...?' But Alva had already closed the door behind her.

Jesse sighed and surveyed his bedroom. He had never really thought about what it would look like when he was at home (the real world he had to constantly remind himself) but he enjoyed the large room with high vaulted ceilings and wide windows which gave the room a feeling of openness. He peeked out of these windows at the town (his town) which was beginning to awaken in the early morning sunlight.

Jesse sniffed and turned away from the view. He busied himself with getting dressed, choosing an outfit from the rich materials and bold colours in his large oak wardrobe. When he thought himself properly dressed, and the mirror had congratulated him several times on his taste of fashion, Jesse decided to go and find breakfast.

He found in the same room he had had dinner the previous evening, a huge dining room. At the far end of the long table sat Alva with a few of the Terabithians who acted as advisers. They were currently in discussion about something which had been placed in front of them.

Jesse decided to join them. Alva smiled at him as he approached and gestured at the seat at the head of the table, which had been left empty. 'We saved you a place.'

'Thanks,' Jesse said gratefully, sliding into position and helping himself to bacon. At least, he assumed it was bacon. It smelt like bacon, it was bacon shaped and when he put it in his mouth it tasted like bacon. Jesse just hadn't known bacon to be a deep purple before.

Alva grinned and nodded at the point of discussion. Jesse peered at it. It was another chunk of sky alright, pink clouds galore with the rising sun. Jesse swallowed and rested his head on his hand. 'So what are we to do about it?'

Alva cleared her throat. 'Well, we've been discussing this,' she waved a hand at the other Terabithians sitting around them. Jesse glanced briefly at each of them before looking back at Alva. He was pretty sure one of them had a fish's face that had been given human flesh and squashed flat, but had decided this wasn't the politest thing to say. Another was definitely part tree for example.

When Alva was sure she had his attention, she continued, 'we've been researching if this has happened before and according to the resources we have we have assumed that this has never occurred in Terabithia before.'

I doubt it would have, Jesse thought, me and Leslie did not design Terabithia so that the sky would collapse. And Terabithia has only existed for about a year. But instead, he said, 'so how do we stop it?'

'We don't know,' croaked fish-face. Jesse stared at him, then back at Alva who just shrugged and then at every single one of his advisers each of whom gave him a look of "well-what-do-you-expect-_me_-to-say?"

'Who does?' he demanded.

'No-one sire,' murmured the part-tree-guy.

'Someone in this kingdom must know why the sky is falling,' Jesse turned to Alva, struck with inspiration, 'The dragons!'

'What about them?' Alva asked.

'They've been around for centuries haven't they? Surely one of them must understand what I have to do?'

'What you must do?' Alva repeated slowly.

'I am not going to sit here and watch,' Jesse shouted angrily, 'will the dragons know what to do?'

Alva hesitated. 'They might...' she said.

'Well then,' Jesse wiped his mouth clean on a napkin and stood up. All eyes travelled up with him. 'I'm going to go and see a dragon.'

All the advisers burst out into exclamations against the idea, but Jesse shouted them down. 'I am the king, so they will listen to me. I can't send someone else; it would offend them. Dragons are proud creatures. They will speak to the best and only the best. It has to be me and I won't take my army with me because that says war, not peace to anyone.' He turned to Alva for help. 'What do you think?'

Alva closed her eyes briefly. Then she said, 'I admit that what you say is true. But I do not agree you should go alone.' She stood up and faced him. 'I ask that you take me with you at least.'

Jesse nodded. 'Wouldn't have it any other way,' he let his eyes drift as he smiled and said, 'and I can think of a couple of others who should come...'

* * *

><p>No promises about when the next update will come. Depends on when I write it. I have a lot of other fics on the go at the same time... probably should stop doing that...<p>

:) see you soon (fingers crossed)


	8. Journey begins

I have discovered that I really enjoy writing this fic, which is not good for the others that I'm meant to be focussing on. Oh well. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Jesse belted the sword that had been passed to him by one of his warriors to his waist and surveyed the group gathered in the courtyard. Towering over them was the tree-giant Jan-nice; Alva was sitting in her branches, helping her plait the fronds of leaves that acted as Jan-nice's hair. She had changed into more practical gear: a white blouse, leather pants, boots and a dark coloured cloak with a green inlay.<p>

Sir Galihud, Jesse's favourite knight, in his squeaky silver armour had agreed to accompany them to the Golden Mountains on his Nar-nir, but then apologised to the king that he would not go much further. 'My Doogle can't do it,' the old knight said sadly, pointing at an old looking Nar-nir with grey fur covered in dark patches.

'Do not worry, Sir Galihud,' Jesse reassured the old knight, 'I'm sure we'll manage. I have Alva and Jan-nice after all.'

'And us, sire,' said a strident voice from behind him.

Jesse sighed. 'Yes, Sir Lanlocks,' he said, not totally keeping the weariness from his voice, 'and you.'

Sir Lanlocks was a creation Jesse didn't recognise when he first introduced himself. He was a young Terabithian, broader than the spindly Sir Galihud, in bright golden armour he had to have specially designed to fit over his unnaturally broad chest, for a Terabithian at any rate. He was incredibly pompous and Jesse had he taken an instant dislike to him. But, he was one of Jesse's highest ranked warriors and so had been voted to join the group by the king's advisers.

Jesse watched as the tanned warrior approached on a muscular fair haired Nar-nir which definitely put the poor Doogle into the shade. He envied the warrior's golden locks and toned body. Pretty much everything about him Jesse envied, which was possibly why Jesse disliked him so much.

'We should be moving off, your highness,' Sir Lanlocks said, his nose pointed in the direction a foot or so above Jesse's head, so that the knight was looking down at the young king.

Jesse didn't like this, and said so. 'Look directly at me when you speak to me,' he snapped, 'it's not nice when I feel I'm being belittled by one of my own warriors.'

Sir Lanlocks had the decency to look humble as he lowered his face. 'I'm sorry, your highness.'

Jesse nodded and strode up to the gates of his castle. Alva jumped down from Jan-nice to join him. 'Ready?' she asked.

Jesse smiled at her. 'As ready as I'll ever be.' He hopped from foot to foot in excitement. 'I can't believe I'm finally going to meet a dragon.'

Alva laughed. Jesse still like the tinkling sound she made when she did that. 'Hold your horses, your highness,' she giggled, 'not everyone is as fast as you.'

Jesse frowned. 'What do you mean?'

Alva gestured at the group. 'You, I and Sir Lanlocks' Nar-nir could run to the foothills of the Golden Mountains in less than an hour, but with poor Doogle and Jan-nice can't manage the speeds we can. I estimate it's going to take us twice as long.'

'Two hours,' Jesse said, 'that's the time it takes for me to walk there.'

'Fast walk,' Alva added.

There was a trumpeting and the huge golden gates swung back to reveal the Terabithian landscape beyond. The sun streamed in and so did the cheers of the crowd beyond. With a gulp and a slight push from Alva, Jesse began to walk forwards. As he approached, the crowd went wild. They didn't know the details, but they knew their king was going off on one of his daring quests again. The smarter Terabithians had guessed it was something to do with the rumours of falling sky.

Jesse began to jog down the path that wound around down the hill his palace was situated on top. Just behind him came Alva, seemingly doing nothing but a brisk walk. Then Sir Galihud and Sir Lanlocks on their respective Nar-nirs and then Jan-nice brought up the rear.

Jesse settled for a fast trot between the crowds, wishing he could start running as soon as he was out of sight of the crowd. But then he remembered that he couldn't run; being the fastest person in Terabithia, although Alva's speed was debateable because he'd never seen her run, he would leave the others behind, eating his dust. And then the crowd followed them down the hill until Jesse was getting tired of the cheering and applause. He hadn't signed up for this when he and Leslie first designed Terabithia. It had just been them, in their tree house.

The thought of Leslie sent a pang of sadness and guilt through Jesse. It would be coming up to the anniversary of Leslie's death. Would he miss it if he was in Terabithia? He should be there. It was his fault...

'Come on slowcoach!' Alva's voice broke through Jesse's thoughts. Looking up, Jesse realised he had slowed so that he was at the back of the group. Alva had dropped back too, but still stood ahead of him, waving for him to catch up. They had left the crowd by the hill behind and were climbing the path up towards the forest. The knights and Jan-nice had been told to carry on by Alva. She knew Jesse could catch them up easily.

Which he did. Jesse wasn't called the fastest in Terabithia for nothing. He whizzed past Alva, who whooped and ran after him. He zoomed past Jan-nice who called after him and then burst out laughing. He overtook the two Nar-nirs who almost bolted in fright. Sir Lanlocks tried to keep pace with the fast royal, but had to drop back. Jesse kept running and running under the dappled shadows cast by the tree branches until he suddenly found himself skidding to a halt beside a narrow stream. And not far from him, still boarded up, was his bridge.

He approached it slowly and ran a hand down its side. He sighed heavily and leant his head against it. He was suddenly desperately homesick.

'Oh look where we are!' Alva's voice made Jesse jump. He hadn't realised that she had followed him.

'You managed to keep up,' he said lamely, watching Alva approach. He watched the way her sword, a long thin rapier, swayed with the movement of her hips. Back and forth, back and forth.

Alva grinned. She didn't seem out of breath. 'Of course I did,' she said happily, 'I used to play with Leslie remember.'

'Oh yeah,' Jesse mumbled, looking away. He hadn't and felt terrible because of it.

Alva tilted her head to one side and leant to one side, trying to get his attention. 'Are you okay?'

'Homesick,' Jesse muttered.

'Don't worry,' Alva said reassuringly, putting a hand on his shoulder, 'all you need to do is fix what's wrong and you can go home, right?'

Jesse stared at her. For some strange reason, he felt there was something that Alva wasn't telling him. But as he opened his mouth to ask her what it was, there was a cry of, 'aha! He is here!' and Sir Lanlocks burst into the clearing. Alva and Jesse instantly broke apart.

Sir Galihud and Jan-nice trudged in after the shouting knight. They gave Alva and Jesse an expression which was a mixture of apprehensive and resigned. They understood Jesse's want to run but could also see that here, by the bridge which would drag up memories, now was not the best time to bring it up.

Sir Lanlocks seemed oblivious to his king's present state. He rode up to the couple by the bridge and peered down his nose at Jesse, something Jesse had asked him to stop doing some five minutes ago. 'We are here for your protection, your highness,' he said disgruntled, 'and we do not be taken kindly to being left behind. You may be fast, but...' he was cut off as Alva stepped up to face him.

'That is no way to talk to your king,' she snapped, 'Jesse didn't mean to and I don't believe it's in your place to criticize him otherwise!' She turned sharply and sauntered off to the right, calling over her shoulder, 'it's this way, hurry up.'

Jesse barely spared the affronted knight a glance but hurried after her, Sir Galihud and Jan-nice in hot pursuit. Sir Lanlocks grunted, turned his Nar-nir around and trailed after them, sulking slightly.

They had journeyed a little way before Jesse realised they were heading deeper into the forest rather than west towards the Golden Mountains. When he mentioned this to Alva, she turned to stare at him as if he had asked her if the sky was blue.

'Were you not paying attention during the meeting?' she asked him.

Jesse blinked at her. 'What meeting?'

Alva groaned. 'The meeting with the advisors and warriors of Terabithia,' she said pointedly, 'the meeting to discuss your decision about who should accompany you to the Golden Mountains. It was why we got saddled with Mr Pompous back there,' she gestured at Sir Lanlocks, 'was because they thought we didn't have enough military strength in our team. So they decided to dock our average IQ by adding him to the team.'

Jesse got the feeling that Alva didn't like Sir Lanlocks. He had to agree with her. 'So, we're...' he offered her the unfinished sentence.

Alva completed it for him. 'Not many people transverse the Golden Mountains. Only one person has and we are going to find him.'

'Right,' Jesse said thankfully. That did sound familiar and now that Alva said it, he could remember everything. 'And we are currently going to find Princess Pari because only the royal family know where he has hidden himself away.'

'Exactly,' Alva said, relieved that Jesse was getting it now, and started walking again. Jesse hurried after her muttering, 'I knew that.'

They finally reached a thick knot of trees which were so tightly bound with ivy that it looked like one big ivy bush. Up to this tree, Alva strode and placed a silver acorn in a hole in the ivy. Following her example, Jesse placed his acorn, a golden one, alongside hers. There was a slight squeak as his hand drew back and a fairy poked its head out of the hole.

Its face was green and shiny like the ivy leaves. At the sight of Jesse, it squeaked again. 'We're here to see the princess,' Alva told it. it nodded, although its eyes did not leave Jesse, and backed into the hole. A couple of moments later, the ivy began to uncoil; it folded back like a great curtain and revealed, not several slender trees, but one great tree, with golden brown bark and at least five feet radius trunk.

The thing that entranced Jesse the most were the tiny houses built into the tree. Admittedly, most of them were no more than holes for doors, maybe with a couple of windows, but the fairies had gone through the trouble of carving the images of roofs and pillars to distinguish one house form the next. Little faces poked out of the holes to stare at their guests. Jesse noticed that they were all different insects, from dragonfly Warrior fairies to the bumblebee-grasshopper Tinkle fairies and flying ant based Worker fairies. There were many others that Jesse did not remember making and could not identify at a single glance.

Jesse gazed up the trunk and realised that there was something in the branches above them. In the centre of the tree, just past the first set of branches, a palace had been carved out of the tree, complete with towers and spires. The tree's branches spread out around it and up over it, giving it the appearance of a castle within a wooden sphere. From this castle, in a flurry of brown wings, flew Princess Pari and her maids-in-waiting.

The overall colour of the princess was brown. She wore a brown coat over tight brown trousers so that she could easily fight for her people. She had long brown ringlets and deep brown eyes. Her skin was the same golden tan as Sir Lanlocks with her great brown moth wings. Jesse couldn't help smiling at the sight of her; not the typical fairy princess that May Bell had been imagining.

The princess alighted before them and beamed at Jesse. 'What can be done for the king of Terabithia?' she asked in her soothing high pitched voice. Jesse had to remind himself that since this was technically land belonging to the fairies, he was not king here. Wow, he thought, I didn't have to go far before I'm already outside of my realm.

Alva answered for him. 'We're searching for the one who can cross the Golden Mountains.'

Pari fixed her eyes on the dark haired girl. 'And why,' she asked softly, 'is it him you are after?'

'Because we need to ask the dragons about the falling sky,' Jesse said.

Pari turned her gaze back to him. 'Falling sky,' she repeated.

Jesse shifted uncomfortably. 'I know it sounds silly...' he started, but Pari interrupted him.

'Would the sky pieces you are searching for answers about look like this?' she asked. She gave a high pitched whistle and a cloud emerged from the castle. On closer inspection, the dark cloud was just a mass of moving fairies, carrying down a box. Pari gestured and they deposited the box in Jesse's arms. With a backwards glance at Alva, who approached to stand at his shoulder, Jesse opened it.

Inside, a rough cube of sky swirled. A cloud was covering most of it, but Jesse could see a trace of blue at the edges. He shut the lid and nodded at Pari. 'This is it. When did you find it?'

'Scouts brought it to us from the edge of the Golden Mountains,' Pari informed him. Several greenfly fairies twirled round in the air, which is the fairy equivalent of bowing. Jesse glanced down at the box's lid. Someone had inscribed it with a gateway, covered by an arch, through which Jesse could see a sun, moon and stars above a mountain range to the right and a forest to the left with a river running between them.

He thanked Pari for allowing them to see it and asked whether he could keep the sky with her for the time being. Pari seemed thrilled to be under such trust and the cloud of Worker fairies scooped up the box again. It was then that Pari told them how to find their guide to the Golden Mountains.

'Deep in the forest he dwells alone,' she told them, 'keep an eye out for the ivy path. He lives where the ends meet.'

Jesse thanked them and Alva thanked her and they backed away as Pari rose into the air again. 'I wish you luck,' the princess said to Jesse, 'I hope you find the answers to this danger. My scouts will keep searching for more sky.'

Jesse thanked her again and then the princess disappeared into the branches above them along with her escort. The ivy began to wrap around the tree again and it returned to its original appearance of a cluster of trees covered by ivy. Jesse turned to go when there was a slight cough and the fairy with the ivy face dropped his and Alva's acorns onto the ledge just outside the hole.

* * *

><p>Finding the ivy path was harder than Jesse expected. The deeper they walked into the forest, the darker it got and the more clustered by overhanging branches and thick vines, brambles, thorns and ivy. Alva pointed out the variation for him when Jesse asked the difference about this ivy to the ivy they were apparently meant to be looking for. The ivy trimmed by fairies grew a strong shiny dark green. The ivy that grew wild in the forest was speckled with white splodges or black at the tip or had tiny purple thorns on the stems.<p>

Jan-nice and Sir Galihud had stopped as soon as the forest began to get darker and more confined. Alva pointed out to Jesse that, as a tree giant, Jan-nice was more susceptible to the darkness in these trees, whilst Sir Galihud was claustrophobic and could not bear it as the trees closed in. Sir Lanlocks left his Nar-nir with them and continued with Jesse and Alva on foot.

Alva finally pointed out an archway made of the fairy ivy and through it they could see a clear path formed by several strands of the rich green ivy, stretching between trees and round a bend. As they ventured down it, they could see the colours in the trees getting greener until they reached a slim birch, about a foot in diameter, with a singular vine hanging down like a bell pull. Indeed, when Jesse tugged on it, a chiming could be heard further up the tree.

A few moments later, something landed on Jesse's head.

Jesse yelped in surprise making Alva and Sir Lanlocks start too. The something was making loud croaking, high pitched yells from atop his head. Jesse reached up and flicked at it, only to have something stab him in the finger.

'Ouch!' he cried out, withdrawing his hand hastily and studying it. His index finger was bleeding in three places along the length of his nail. He stuck it in his mouth and hoped that it wasn't about to attack his scalp.

Alva and Sir Lanlocks had come to the same conclusion too, but had different approaches to dealing with whatever was on him. Sir Lanlocks gave an indignant yell and launched himself at the thing, but only succeeded in knocking Jesse over as whatever it was leapt into the air just before he collided. Alva drew from the bag on her shoulders a small jar and offered it to the something after opening it.

'We brought honey,' she told it. It went "humph" and flew over to her. Jesse pushed Sir Lanlocks off and scrambled to his feet, approached Alva cautiously. What looked like a giant bumblebee was sticking out of the top of her small honey jar. One hand was buried in the soft honey. In the other was a fork about a couple of inches long. Jesse didn't need to be a genius to guess what had stabbed him.

On closer inspection, Jesse realised that the black stripes were a lot thicker than the yellow bands, but there was the occasional jingle from inside the jar. This fairy was clearly the offspring of a Tinkle fairy and a Buzzer fairy (a Buzzer was a household fairy who preferred the Terabithian cities to the forest dwellings; Most Terabithians found them irritating due to the noise their wings made, hence the name). When he pulled his head out of the jar, Jesse could see he had the typical single antennae of the Buzzers that flopped over his back, but this had a bell on the end of it, like a Tinkle, and tiny bells on the ends of his curly shoes too. His face was wrinkled and brown like a hazelnut shell, with small bushy grey eyebrows above beetle black eyes and a hooked nose. He glared as Jesse examined him curiously whilst continuing to stuff crystals of honey into his mouth.

Sir Lanlocks leapt to his feet. 'Keep back sire,' he called to Jesse, throwing an arm around him and pushing him away from the little fairy, 'the fiend is armed.'

Jesse landed on the ground heavily. He was starting to get frustrated with the knight. Alva certainly was.

'For goodness sake,' she snapped, 'he's four inches tall; he's not going to kill Jesse.'

'That's right,' snapped the little fairy, stuffing more honey in his mouth, 'I'm not.'

'There,' said Alva, 'see.'

'Unless...' the little fairy continued, 'unless... I feel like it.'

'Come on now,' Alva said, slightly cross by trying to keep her voice calm whilst Sir Lanlocks shouted triumphantly at them, 'you can't do that. He's the king.'

'I will if I feel like it,' the fairy said shortly and returned to stuffing his face with honey.

'So,' Jesse said, getting to his feet for a second time, 'this is our guide.'

'This is Dumbledore,' Alva agreed, staring down at the crazy little fairy.

'Guide?' Dumbledore stared up at her shrewdly, 'guide where?'

'We would like you to guide us through the Golden Mountains,' Alva said calmly.

The little fairy gave a shout of terror and shot up into the air, crying out shrilly, 'no, no, no, and no!'

'But we gave you honey,' Alva called to it, trying to stop her temper from snapping.

'Not go back to big lizards,' Dumbledore shouted, butting his head against the tree as he tried to navigate the branches to get back to his house, which Jesse could make out about five feet above his head, 'No!'

Alva watched the little fairy's progress as Dumbledore whizzed about crying out, 'no!' and 'Won't go!' and 'Can't make me!' but not actually making any progress in the right direction towards his house. At one point he gave up going upwards and dived, shrieking, at Sir Lanlocks' head but veered off last minute. He bounced around the grove like a ball in a pinball machine, before finally sinking, defeated, on top of Alva's head.

Alva smiled as she tried looking up at the little fairy perched on top of her. 'Are you quite finished?' she asked.

'Won't go,' the fairy mumbled, but it sounded a lot less determined about that fact.

'We need to go,' Alva explained, 'the sky is falling and we need to ask the dragons why that is.'

As the mention of the sky, the fairy perked up. 'Not seen big blue in many a year,' he said, sitting upright, 'big blue with big whites and the golden yellow ball. Then blackness comes and so does the pin cushioned sky.' He giggled.

'What on earth has happened to him?' Jesse asked in a deadpan tone.

'Got caught in the wind,' Dumbledore said before Alva could open her mouth, 'and up and up and up I went, into big blue herself, then tumbled down and down and dwon and dwon,' Jesse stared at Alva who rolled her eyes, 'until I bounce on rock and dirt. And then the dragons came,' Dumbledore's eyes widened and he stared unseeingly ahead of him. It looked kind of freaky. 'They came with their long claws and glowing eyes. But I ran and ran and ran and ran until the white trap set around me and barred the way from the little ones. The big white trap took me to the darker caves and led me through them to the utter blackness and then I saw the golden glow from big blue and up and up and up I went again until I was free! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' he squealed at the top of his lungs and somersaulted twice on the top of Alva's head. 'And I went through the zigzag way until I found the proper earth and green expanse of safety where I could rest.' He flopped down on her dark hair again.

'Basically,' Alva translated, 'he got stuck in the mountains after a gust of wind caught him where he got trapped by a dragon which kept him underground until he escaped and managed to find his way back to the forest.'

'Well, now Dumbledore,' Jesse said, addressing the little fairy properly for the first time.

'Dumby!' the fairy insisted, sitting upright, 'Dumby is what they call me! Dumby is what I call me! Dumby!'

'Well, Dumby,' Jesse said, 'we need you to show us the way to the dragons. We need to talk to them about the sky.'

Dumbledore nodded. 'Why sky falls, will do will do. Will do anything for precious honey.' He dived for the pot again, but Alva put the lid on it before he could reach it.

'We need to go now, Dumby,' she told the fairy. Dumbledore glared up at her, but straightened up and said, in a surprising sane voice, 'alright, I'll just go and pack then.'

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><p>I love writing Dumby, he's such fun. And I didn't plan him actually, he just kind of appeared on my page and I just thought, hey why not :D<p>

Promise that next chaper, you'll meet a dragon.


	9. Dragons

Thank you all so much for continuing to like this story although I haven't updated in such a long time!

Disclaimer: you get the gist. I own every dragon introduce though.

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><p>Sir Galihud took an instant like to the crazy fairy when Alva, Jesse and Sir Lanlocks returned with it, Lanlocks carrying the bag that the fairy had packed. Dumby had a small satchel thrown over one shoulder, but had also insisted in bringing along a sack the size of a tennis ball filled with a stuff Jesse was certain was not clothes. Dumby didn't appear the type.<p>

Galihud invited the little fairy to ride with him and catches of their laughter carried forward to Jesse had the head of the party, Galihud's wheezy chortle and Dumby's tinkling croak. Alva gave him a smile as he glanced round.

'They seem to be getting along splendidly,' she said, amused, 'at this rate, I'll save on honey...'

At the mention of the word, Dumby shot forwards at the speed of a bullet, colliding painfully with Alva's head and screaming at the top of his lungs, 'HONEY!'

Alva let out a little squeal and began to run in the hope of shaking Dumby off. But Dumby clung onto her hair and giggled as the world blurred past them. Alva ran round and round the group, shaking her head to try and dislodge the maniac off. To the rest of the group, Alva was moving too quickly for them to see. Jesse, who could move faster than the rest of them, could see that Dumby had wound his fork into Alva's curls and was refusing to let go, still screaming, 'HONEY!'

Sir Lanlocks started forwards with the cry of, 'unhand her you fiend,' and before Jesse could stop him, had stepped directly into Alva's path. Alva hit the brakes as the Nar-nir walked out in front of her. She was going to crash, she was going to crash.

Behind her head, Dumby whooped in delight at the spinning world.

Something smacked into her from the side, knocking her away from the stupid knight and his ride. The something snatched the fairy out of her hair and placed her neatly on the ground in one swift movement. 'Watch out, Lanlocks,' Jesse said crossly as Alva staggered around trying to stop her head from spinning, 'Alva nearly crashed into you. When travelling at high speeds, it is difficult to stop. And you,' he said, addressing the fairy squirming in his hand, 'we'll give you honey if you behave and do as we ask. We will not do it if you start attacking my second in command.'

'Thanks Jesse,' Alva murmured, sitting down to see if that helped, and then added, 'spoken like a king.'

Dumby looked Jesse thoughtfully in the eye. 'More to you than meets the eye,' he cackled and jabbed at Jesse with the blunt end of his fork, 'now let Dumby go!'

'You've not agreed with me yet,' Jesse said firmly.

'I say I will if Sir says he will let go,' the fairy responded sharply.

'Here,' Jesse said and let go of the fairy's legs. Dumby rolled round and round in the air for a moment, then righted himself, said, 'I will,' and fluttered back to Sir Galihud.

Jesse sighed and helped Alva to her feet. She had regained her sense of balance and was glaring at Sir Lanlocks. 'What, exactly, were you planning on doing?' she asked peevishly. Sir Lanlocks opened his mouth to respond, closed it again and then looked rather sheepish. 'Thought so,' Alva snapped and stalked off.

Jesse held back a grin and hurried after her. 'Why did we bring him?' Alva grumbled to him as they approached the growing rocky hills in front of him.

'Wasn't my first choice either,' Jesse reassured her, 'but he'll have to do.'

Alva growled under her breath and then beamed at Jesse, 'thank you, by the way, for stepping in. That would have been really painful.'

'You're welcome,' Jesse said. Alva was still smiling at him. 'What?'

'Second in command am I?' Alva asked teasingly.

'Didn't you know?' Jesse responded.

'No.'

'Well, you seem to know what we're doing. You seem to understand everything. You remind me of Leslie. Give me a reason why you shouldn't be second in command?'

Alva looked away. 'I remind you of Leslie?'

'Yeah,' Jesse frowned, 'Something wrong with that?'

'No, no,' Alva replied airily. Jesse knew she was lying, but didn't press it.

On the horizon, steadily growing, were a series of mountains. After a while, Jesse could just about understand why they had been named the Golden Mountains. In the light of the setting sun, the rocks did seem to glow a faint gold, although as they approached, this glow gradually faded to reveal barren hillsides and steep cliffs.

As the mountains grew, Dumby became quieter, more subdued. Jesse could hear over his shoulder mutters of, 'not good, not good, big lizards with fiery tempers round here, not good, not good...'

All Jesse could think about was: I'm going to meet a dragon; I'm going to meet a dragon.

Finally, the undergrowth fell away and Jesse stepped onto hard rock. Alva joined him. To Jesse, there seemed no obvious entrance into the mountain range. Huge mountains rose up before them, so close together that the side of one mountain had barely touched the ground before the next started. Alva turned to their guide and said, 'okay Dumby, how do we get in?'

Dumby stared at the mountains with big round eyes. After a gentle prod from Sir Galihud, the fairy murmured, 'not here, not here.'

Alva groaned. 'Is he still complaining about coming here?' she asked, 'do I need to get the honey out?'

'I don't think so,' Jesse said, turning back to the mountains, 'I think he means that the entrance isn't round here. Is that right, Dumby?'

Dumby was eyeing Alva as if he was about to leap at her again. 'Won't say no to honey,' was all he replied with.

Jesse groaned inwardly. He could see Alva doing the same. He was just about to give up and ask Alva to get the jar out when a cry stopped him. Four fairy scouts were approaching from the right. Jesse grinned at the sight of their greenfly bodies.

'Salutations your highness,' said the lead scout, 'alerted to your approach and intentions, we are here to help.'

'Oh, good,' Jesse said. He waved vaguely in the direction of Dumby who was clinging to Sir Galihud but staring at Alva eagerly. 'Our guide isn't being very helpful.'

The scout eyed Dumby doubtfully. 'The elder fairy is afraid of beginning,' he observed, 'when you can no longer turn back, he will look only forwards. Come, we will direct you until then.'

Thankfully, Jesse started off after the four scouts and the group followed. Jan-nice was an instant favourite among the younger scouts who flew about her fronds and braided her fringe. She giggled and let them play. The more mature lead scout flew alongside Jesse and Alva as they led the way towards a narrow passage between two towering mountains.

Then the shout arose. 'Dragon!'

Jesse, who had been conversing with the lead scout, whipped round. That came from ahead of them. Before Alva could stop him, Jesse had begun to run, his desire to see a dragon too great to wait.

There was a second scouting party a little way beyond the entrance to the mountains. This group, joined by a couple of warrior fairies, the sunlight glinting off their dragonfly scales and armour, were fighting a small, thin and disappointing in Jesse's eyes. It looked to him like a scaly weasel but its nose was twice as long and its mouth twice as wide. Putrid green with yellow specks, with a puffed up hood and a long thin tail, it was not like the majestic creatures Jesse had in mind.

It didn't see him approach at the speed he did. It was too busy snapping at the squealing fairies for fun, whilst dodging the warrior's swords. Its jaws almost closed around a scout's torso.

Then the dragon found it had been dragged away and up into the air by something humongous. The big pink thing was holding it by the tail and appeared to be examining it. 'So this is a dragon,' it said in a slightly depressed voice.

The dragon squealed and squirmed in Jesse' grip. Suddenly the predator had become the prey. Jesse now understood why the dragons had fled from him and May Bell when they first approached the mountains. This one was barely two foot long.

Now the rest of Jesse's party had arrived and the dragon was panicking. It writhed and bucked but Jesse held on tight, determined not to let his first interaction with a dragon end so soon. 'This is a dragon,' he said, showing Alva.

Alva managed a tight lipped smile. 'Not very impressive is it?'

'And this is who we're going to ask about the falling sky?'

'Nonsense,' Alva exclaimed, 'there are much greater specimens than this one.'

In Jesse's hand, the dragon had gone still when he mentioned falling sky. Now, with a great burst of strength, it whipped upwards and bit Jesse on the finger. With a cry, he released his grip and before he could rectify his mistake, the dragon had sped away into the mountains via a little gap between two cliffs through which Jesse could not follow.

Jesse cursed and sucked the bleeding finger. Sir Lanlocks was announcing that he was going to arrest that scaly creature for attacking the king. Alva asked him how he was going to follow it. Lanlocks, without pausing for thought, replied that he will seek it once inside the mountains. Jesse grinned as Alva face-palmed.

The fairy scout leader hovered at Jesse's eye level and twirled the fairy version of bowing. 'We are most thankful, your highness,' he said in solemn tones, 'that you intervened. Small specimens such as that one are a problem to our people.'

'I know. I have been asked in the past to assist in repelling them,' Jesse responded, staring at the crack into which the small dragon had disappeared. 'Now, perhaps, you could show me the way into the mountains.'

'But of course, your majesty.'

Back the way they had come and then Jesse was shown the narrow pathway between the mountains. Sheer cliff faces rose either side of him as he squinted down the gloomy passage. He looked back at his party. 'Will the Nar-nirs and Jan-nice fit down here?'

The two knights looked at one another, their beasts and the rough corridor between the mountains. 'I should think,' wheezed Sir Galihud, 'that if we dismount, and with a bit of prodding and poking, we should be able to get them through?'

'Sir Galihud! I thought you weren't going to accompany us any further than here? Besides, aren't you claustrophobic?'

'If I close my eyes, I know my king will guide me safely,' the old knight said firmly, demonstrating there and then, 'I want to protect my king!'

'Let him come,' Alva said hurriedly, 'he keeps Dumby quiet.'

'Okay, if that's what he wants. Jan-nice?'

The tree giant smiled. 'If I turn sideways and breathe in, I will manage. A little difficulty now is nothing as long as I can accompany my king.'

Jesse returned the smile. 'Thank you, Jan-nice.' He turned to Alva, 'I think we're ready.'

Alva nodded and thanked the scouts. 'Thank Princess Pari for us as well.'

The scout leader saluted, 'will do, madam, and best of luck.'

Jesse nodded and led the way through the narrow passage into the Golden Mountains. Light spread through the slight gap where the two sides failed to meet. The rock walls twisted sharply left and right and in some places became narrow enough that Jesse could touch either side with both elbows bent. Behind him, Alva talked Sir Galihud through the corridor whilst Sir Lanlocks was in charge of the Nar-nir. Glancing round, Jesse was relieved to see Jan-nice bringing up the rear. Somehow, the giant troll was managing the sharp cliff edges and tight corners without breaking sweat.

Then Jesse was out into a circular space with a low dip in the centre. He breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the group filed out behind him into the small space. He could hear Galihud and Jan-nice expressing their relief too.

Jesse looked ahead. At the opposite end of the dip, three pathways branched off. The middle one resembled the pathway they had just come from. The path on the right began to climb a mountain whilst the path on the left went down into a valley.

'Which way now?' Jesse asked Alva.

Alva turned to Dumby. 'Which way now?' she asked the little fairy.

Dumby examined the three pathways. 'Must go up in order to go down,' said the little fairy at length, 'choose the same way twice and you'll end up back where you started!'

'What does he mean by that?' Jesse queried.

Alva was slow in answering. 'These are old mountains,' she said at last, 'many argue that mountains have gathered thoughts as they have gathered living habitants. I think what he is trying to say is that if we take a pathway that is like the one we have just taken – that middle route for example – we might end up going in circles.'

'I don't understand.'

'Allow me, sire,' Sir Lanlocks cried out boldly, 'I do not trust this fairy. Allow me to search the way ahead.' The knight mounted and charged towards the central route.

'No!' Alva called out, 'we mustn't separate or we might lose one another forever.'

'Sir Lanlocks, come back,' Jesse ordered, but the knight had already disappeared down the gloomy thin passage ahead.

'Curse him,' Jesse muttered, 'now we have to go after him.'

Dumby let loose a cackle. 'Not just yet, not just yet. Let him ride, let him ride; see how Dumby is right!'

'What are you going on about?' Jesse demanded but Jan-nice interrupted, 'hush, your highness, listen.'

Jesse did and to his amazement, he could hear Sir Lanlocks' voice coming from the passageway they had just exited. And after a moment, the knight burst out into the circular area and stopped dead at the sight of them. He stared at them, stunned, and then back the way he had come. 'But I just...' he murmured.

Dumby burst out laughing. 'See! See!' he exclaimed, 'trust Dumby! Trust Dumby! Dumby lead the way!'

Sir Lanlocks turned on the little fairy. 'How can we trust a half mad fairy that might attack us at any minute for honey?' he shouted angrily, 'you could be telling us anything to see if we believed it.'

'And what if Dumby had been wrong?' Dumby said, suddenly wise, 'where would you have been?' Sir Lanlocks opened and closed his mouth dumbly. Dumby wagged a finger at him. 'Girly warned you, girly said, he even called you come back but you go on and on and if it weren't for Dumby being right you would be lost in narrow and lost in mountains and lost forever. Trust Dumby, Dumby don't want to be lost. Go up!'

With that the little fairy took off from Sir Galihud's shoulder and buzzed away up the right hand route, his companion quickly following. With a scowl at the gobsmacked knight, Jesse and Alva followed, leaving Jan-nice to give Lanlocks and helpful shove and bring up the rear.

From a perch on a high ledge, something watched them go. It licked its lips and hissed, 'the mountains want them here. After all, he picked the path that would bring him back and I don't think he thought about that.' With a nod to itself, it picked itself up and pursued the party.

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><p>With Jesse now in front, the company worked its way across the mountains. Sometimes Dumby would have to fly high into the air in order to think of the best route but he would generally decide left or right. Not once did he choose a path that would lead into a mountain or down a gloomy valley way. They went up and down and round the mountain sides, but never in or out or through.<p>

After a long time, as the sunset was turning the mountain rocks gold, Alva looked back and called for Jesse to stop. Jesse did so and realised why. Jan-nice had stopped in the wide area they had just left. Working his way back along the group, Jesse called out to her. 'What's wrong?'

Jan-nice smiled at him. 'I tell you I am never lost in the forest because I know that every tree is an individual and if I can recognise the tree I know where I am,' she began by reminding the young king, 'and I am now telling you, your highness, that that tree there,' she pointed at a tree stump growing out of the nearby mountainside, 'is very much an individual and this is our third time of passing it.'

'We're going in circles,' Alva translated dryly.

Sir Lanlocks jabbed a finger at Dumby who rested on the other knight's shoulder and who was staring with wide eyes at the tree stump. 'You did indeed trick us!'

Dumby let out a high pitched squeal that made both Nar-nir dip in pain. 'I don't, I don't,' the little fairy cried out desperately, 'I take the path I know I take, I take, I take... I take the right way!'

'Then how do you explain this?' demanded the enraged bronze hunk.

'I must admit it is confusing,' Sir Galihud ventured, 'but I'm sure Dumby did not mean it.'

'Get not into the business you do not understand, elder,' Sir Lanlocks snapped.

'Elder?'

'Please,' Jesse said to the quarrelling threesome, 'this is not the time or the place. We need to figure out what to do here.' He rubbed his eyes wearily. 'Could this get worse?' he muttered to Alva.

'Look up.'

Jesse raised his eyes to the edges of the cliffs that towered over them. Peering over them were thousands upon thousands of tiny eyes in long weasel like, scaly faces. Green and yellow with flickers of brown dragons were massing about the tops of the cliffs, all eyes fixed upon the company in the middle.

'What are they...?' Jesse began when he recognised a dragon now rising on its hind legs, flaring out its wings. 'Oh no...' it was the dragon he had caught earlier, the one that had bitten him and fled. Now it had returned and brought an army with it.

Behind him, Jesse could hear swords being drawn, the soft swish of Sir Lanlocks and the odd creak of Sir Galihud as he wrenched it free from its slow rusting scabbard. Alva too had drawn her rapier and Jesse copied her.

There was a squeak from Dumby as the fairy buried itself in Sir Galihud's hair. The dragon's eyes snapped upon it. Was it Jesse's imagination or did it smile?

Don't be silly, Jesse told himself sternly, this is all in your imagination... right? It did come from my imagination at least.

'Get ready,' he said aloud, to ease himself more than anything else. But the words had barely left his lips when the dragon hissed, its companions leapt and all hell broke loose. Jesse lost awareness of where the others were as he parried the attacks of six dragons at once, slashed them away and then stabbed at the ones gnawing at his feet. He could make out Alva to his left. Having no flat edge to her sword to bat the creatures away, she was having to keep moving swiftly, hopping from one foot to another and trying desperately not to step on their little backs.

There was a scream to his right. Jesse turned to seen Jan-nice trying to buck a swarm of dragons off her back. Not as cautious as Alva, she slammed herself into a cliff face, succeeding in breaking the backs of many of the reptiles on her but also dislodging those on the tops which landed on her head. She swatted at them with her giant hands.

And then some got under her feet.

With the noise of a felled tree, Jan-nice toppled to the ground and the pack descended.

'Jan-nice!' Jesse yelled and began to slash his way through the throngs of animals to her. But he hadn't got half way when he heard Sir Galihud call for help. He was under attack by more of the animals than Jesse, presumably because of Dumby who was perched on the knight's head, fork at the ready, stabbing at the little monsters.

Jesse looked around for someone else to help them and spotted Sir Lanlocks; mounted on his Nar-nir, the knight seemed to be fairing best against the onslaught. 'Sir Lanlocks! Help save Dumby!' and as the knight turned to argue with him, 'I know he's a useless guide, but he's the only one we have!'

Sir Lanlocks nodded and turned his mount towards his struggling companion. Jesse once again tried to head towards Jan-nice but this time a scream from behind him made him stop short. Several of the dragons had clambered up Alva's trousers and were dragging her down. Her wide brown eyes met Jesse's and she stretched out her hand towards him. Jesse reached back, but they missed.

'Alva!'

'Jesse! Help!'

A dragon landed on Jesse's chest, knocking him back and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dragon climb the back of Sir Lanlocks, leap across him to Sir Galihud and its jaws clamped around Dumby's waist. The glint in its eye was what Jesse recognised.

'Dumby!'

There was a roar and something large and red landed in the middle of arena. In the same bound, it was airborne and collided head on with the little dragon which held Dumby in its mouth. There was a battle of teeth and claws and the little dragon slipped free of its larger attacker, but no longer had told of a fairy.

The other dragons were disappearing, fleeing at the sight of something bigger and more dangerous. Alva was deposited roughly onto the rocky floor, messed up but not harmed any further. Jesse turned to check on Jan-nice. The tree giant had fronds bitten off, more scratches than the others, but no worse for wear.

The red thing that had saved them landed once more in the centre of the arena and this time remained. It was another dragon, this one much larger than the others. About the size of a dog, and resembling more a dog than a weasel this time in its body and leg shape, it had short spikes running down the back of its neck, from the top of its head to the tip of its long tail. It had a deep ruby red with faded patches of a reddish pink. At its throat were hexagons of gold, the colour of its eyes. There were hints of purple here and there, like the ringing round the claws or snout.

Alva approached it cautiously. It wrinkled its nose and winced. 'It's alright,' she said softly.

The dragon shuddered and shook its head violently as if trying to dislodge something. Then it puffed up its cheeks and spat Dumby, fork and all, onto the floor. Alva leaned back, away from the spit covered fairy that leapt to its feet and began yelled furiously at the dragon sitting calmly above it.

'How dare you eat Dumby? Don't eat Dumby! Me, Dumby, not eaten!'

The dragon blinked and hissed, 'pardon me.' It bowed its head and spoke on the fairy's level, 'I thought it the quickest way of getting you to safety.'

'In you safe?!' the little fairy screamed, 'you safe!?'

'Who are you?' Jesse asked the creature.

The creature puffed up its chest and regarded Jesse proudly. 'I am Tinamont,' it said, 'and I am to lead you to Judgement!'

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><p>Thank you so much for keeping with me. Unfortunately, I cannot promise regular updates due to my life becomes increasingly busy, but I will be continuing with this, promise!<p> 


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